Doctor offers advice on how to deal with post-holiday blues

Year in and year out, people experiencing postholiday blues is not an uncommon occurrence.

Oftentimes, the holidays are a marker of another year gone, and it makes individuals take a step back and reassess the past year, says Dr. Adam Borland, who has been a clinical psychologist for seven years at Cleveland Clinic’s Beachwood Family Health Center.

“Post-holiday blues is a very real thing,” Borland said. “It may bring up memories of a loved one. It may be the first holiday without a loved one, so those are all very real experiences for individuals.

“This year obviously brings a whole host of other difficulties given the pandemic.”

Borland believes there has been a spike in post holiday depression due to the novel coronavirus. It’s been difficult for people because they weren’t necessarily able to spend the holidays with loved ones, he said.

“The holidays looked much different this year than they usually do,” Borland said. “For a lot of people, around this time of year, they’re able to travel. They may bank up their vacation time to get out of the cold, gray weather and they weren’t able to travel this year. Mentioning the gray weather as well, that can play a big role in these post holiday blues.”

The lack of sunlight can cause seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a type of depression related to changes in seasons. With colder weather preventing people from getting outside, a cabin fever sensation is common, Borland said.

“When we reach February, March or so, people are kind of fed up with it. They’re ready to get back outside and to get a little bit of sunlight,” he said. “And these types of symptoms are very real and I see it every year in my patients.”

Post-holiday blues can occur across all ages, Borland said, noting that this year in particular, the elderly experiencing more specific symptoms has been common.

“Perhaps they’re living in an assisted living situation in which maybe they’re not allowed to accept visitors as often, so I would say among the elderly, especially this year, has been a bit more difficult,” Borland said.

To overcome post-holiday depression, Borland recommends creating a healthy, daily routine, which would include prioritizing sleep, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. In addition, deep breathing and meditation are things Borland encourages, as well as staying in touch with friends and loved ones through some type of virtual platform.

“Then I recommend engaging in some sort of creative outlet — working with your hands, cooking,” he said. “Puzzles have become a big part of my life, so engaging in some sort of hands on activity.”

Borland said he does not necessarily experience the holiday blues but the weather is always difficult for him and he goes into every year being aware of that.

“I am someone who banks up all my vacation time around this time of year, so not being able to travel this year was difficult,” he said. “I’m not afraid to admit that.”

For Borland, his career has been “incredibly rewarding.”

“I am really given the gift of people putting their trust in me and sharing with me things that perhaps they’ve either never really delved into or never really talked about at all, so the fact they are sharing that with me is a gift,” he said.

Borland works with adults — anyone 18 and over. He comes from a psychologically aware family and background, he said, so this has been something he was always aware of growing up.

During his undergraduate career, Borland attended Indiana University and later attended to the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago for graduate school.

“The concept of wanting to help others was always something I wanted to pursue, and I tell people I was kind of on the fence to whether or not to return to grad school and then 9/11 occurred,” he said. “It was something that really gave me that push toward returning to school and saying this is what I really want to do.”

With the challenges this time of year can bring, including the pandemic and turmoil occurring, it can be easy to focus on the negative, Borland said.

“I think it takes a lot more work. It is very important to try and prioritize gratitude,” he said. “Try and prioritize things we’re thankful for, even if it’s just the little things.”

To overcome post-holiday depression, Borland recommends creating a healthy, daily routine, which would include prioritizing sleep, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.