Holiday Season and Mental Health

Photo by Julie Coren

The days are growing shorter as the holiday season approaches.

This can bring on seasonal affective disorder.

The holidays alone can heighten stress, anxiety, and depression.

Getting together with family and friends can be both joyous and tough.

Loneliness whether single or not can set in ever more so.

Absence and memories of a lost loved one can bring up so much emotion.

Know that you are not alone.

Here are some curated links that we hope will help:

• The ‘winter blues’ can last 5 months, but there are treatments

• Your body’s natural serotonin can stave off depression and provide a feeling a euphoria

• Feel-good hormones: How they affect your mind, mood and body

• Daily meditation may work as well as a popular drug to calm anxiety, study finds

• Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art – Meditation and Mindfulness: virtual sessions on Friday’s (free)

• Graphic novel about dealing with anxiety and depression: Everything is Ok by Debbie Tung

• A song that brings us joy: Cranberry Lake by Ari Hest

• 10 Things You Can Do To Feel Less Lonely, According To Therapists

  “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” - Oscar Wilde

• Dealing With Grief During the Holiday Season