For people suffering from depression or anxiety, coping through the holiday season can be particularly tough.
Fred Stock is the president and CEO of Jewish Community Services in North Miami. He says there are many reasons for holiday depression and anxiety.
“You’re bombarded with all this messaging and parties, gifts. And for people who are lonely, or who are suffering from depression, who are isolated, this bombardment from the media exacerbates this feelings of loneliness and depressions,” Stock says.
Effective Jan. 1, Jewish Community Services will operate Miami-Dade County’s 211 Call Center information and referral call center, which also serves as the suicide-prevention hotline.
The suicide prevention hotline operates throughout the year, including during the holidays. While suicide rates do not rise during the holiday season, the call center wants to remind Miami-Dade residents that their phone lines are open 24 hours a day.
“It can be more difficult to deal with during the holidays, but the depression and anxiety and difficulty coping, and the challenges in work, happen all year round.”
According to Stock, there's a tendency for people at risk to withdraw during the holiday season.
“It’s almost like people feel guilty if they’re not happy during the holidays … and while that feeling exists all year, I think there’s a potential for that to get exacerbated and again increased during holiday times,” he says.
Stock adds personal circumstances may also increase feelings of loss, loneliness or depression around this time of year, such as being involved in any kind of marital or family conflict or suffering from financial problems and not being able to buy gifts for family and friends.
To counter those feelings, Stock advises seeking counseling or therapy and reminds people that taking that first step is often the hardest part.
To take care of themselves, people should avoid isolation, stressful situations and social media, which can often reinforce the idea that everyone else is happy and they are not.
