Key Takeaways
- Holiday depression can make you feel sad and stressed during the winter holidays.
- Exercise and socializing can help reduce feelings of holiday depression.
- If your feelings don’t improve after the holidays, talk to a doctor.
For some people, the winter holidays can be a painful period of reflection, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. This pervasive sadness is known informally as holiday blues or holiday depression.
Who Gets the Holiday Blues?
Anyone—even those who love the season—can experience the holiday blues. The season’s demands, gatherings, decorations, and other stressors leave many people stressed and exhausted. Add to this the sometimes emotional aspect of special days, and it’s a recipe for the doldrums.
People with a prior mental health condition may be particularly prone to holiday depression. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 64% of people with an existing mental illness report that the holidays make their condition worse.
Signs & Symptoms
The most common symptom of holiday depression is a persistent or recurring feeling of sadness that begins during the holiday season. It can vary in intensity and duration. Some people might feel down periodically but experience brief periods of relief.
Signs of holiday depression include:
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Depressed or irritable mood
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Feeling more tired than usual
- Feeling tense, worried, or anxious
- Loss of pleasure in doing things you used to enjoy
Holiday Depression vs. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Holiday depression and SAD can be difficult to distinguish from one another, but the duration and severity of symptoms are usually the best clues.
SAD
Typically lasts about 40% of the year—starting in the late fall and early winter until the spring and summer.
Often more severe and can be debilitating
If the holiday season passes and you’re still feeling depressed or anxious, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional to determine if what you are experiencing is a more significant mood disorder.
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Diagnosing the Holiday Blues
Although the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) doesn’t formally recognize the holiday blues as a psychiatric condition, you should talk with your healthcare provider about your symptoms. During your appointment, they will ask questions about your symptoms, including the duration and severity.
Causes of the Holiday Blues
People might experience holiday depression for many reasons, such as:
- Lack of sleep. A hectic holiday schedule can lead to a lack of sleep, which increases stress.
- Excess eating and alcohol use. People sometimes turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to handle holiday sadness and stress. Excessive drinking and overeating can make the symptoms of holiday depression even more pronounced.
- Financial stress. Overextending yourself financially or struggling to afford gifts for family and friends can create an added burden of financial stress.
- Isolation and loneliness. Being unable to spend the holidays with your family and friends can make the holiday season seem especially lonely.
- Unrealistic expectations. The commercialization of the holidays can create the expectation of nonstop joy and holiday cheer, which can lead to holiday stress and sadness.
Because the holidays mark an impending new year, people tend to reflect on the past year. They might feel regret, failure, or other negative emotions.
Seasonal sadness can affect kids, too. Dealing with different routines, family gatherings, travel, high expectations, and other holiday happenings can contribute to feelings of sadness and depression in kids. Watch for the signs and talk to your child’s pediatrician if you are concerned.
Treatment for the Holiday Blues
Unless your healthcare provider has diagnosed you with major depression or another condition, they probably won’t prescribe medications to treat your holiday depression symptoms. In many cases, holiday depression can be managed with lifestyle changes and social support. Your doctor may refer you to a mental health professional for psychotherapy.
Though the holiday blues are usually short-term, talking to a mental health professional can help. Your therapist can help you identify patterns of negative thinking that contribute to sadness and depression, replacing those thoughts with more helpful ones. This approach is known as cognitive behavioral therapy. Therapy can also help you develop better stress management, communication, and relationship skills that can be helpful in both the short and long term.
Coping With the Holiday Blues
In addition to talking to your healthcare provider, try these strategies to deal with the holidays.
Drink Only in Moderation
Alcohol is a depressant, and drinking too much can exacerbate negative feelings. You don’t need to go cold turkey. Instead, limit your consumption and don’t use alcohol to deal with or avoid difficult emotions. If you choose to drink, limit yourself to one or two alcoholic drinks at social functions.
Don’t Isolate Yourself
Social isolation can be a major risk factor for depression—and depression typically makes social interaction difficult. Particularly if you’re on your own, reaching out and finding social support can be all the more difficult.
Look for ways to enjoy social connections, even if you can’t go home for the holidays. If you’re feeling lonely, ask a friend to come over for a heart-to-heart. Join a local club, volunteer for something you believe in, or see a counselor for support.
Exercise Regularly
Regular physical activity can play an important role in preventing and reducing symptoms of depression. So, although hitting the gym can be tough when you feel stressed, busy, and sad, remember that you don’t need to glue yourself to the treadmill or weight machine to feel the benefits. Even a casual activity such as a short walk each day might be enough to keep the holiday blues at bay.
Learn to Say ‘No’
The holidays often mean more people asking for help and making demands on your time and resources. Holiday invites can turn into stressful social obligations. Small favors can morph into huge projects that you didn’t anticipate. Avoid overcommitting by knowing your limits and learning how to say “no.”
Find Time for Yourself
Make sure that you leave enough time for yourself to relax. Even 15 to 20 minutes a day to enjoy some quiet time, read a book, listen to music, take a bath, do yoga, or some other relaxing activity can do wonders for your stress levels.
Set Realistic Expectations
It’s fine to be excited about the holidays and make plans for the things you want to do. But it is also important to keep your expectations realistic and reachable.
Holidays change just as people change. Kids grow older, people move, and new people will become a part of your life. The key is to focus on those connections, create new traditions, and remember past holidays with fondness while still enjoying the one right in front of you. Focus on enjoying the experience and the time you get to spend with your loved ones rather than on achieving a picture-perfect end result.
The holidays don’t have to be perfect to be special. They don’t have to be exactly like the holidays of the past to be just as meaningful and memorable.
How to Get Help
If the holiday blues don’t lift after the holidays or if they’ve begun interfering with your well-being and ability to function, talk to your doctor or mental health professional. They will help diagnose your signs and symptoms and discuss treatment options, including psychotherapy and medications.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mental health and the holiday blues.
National Alliance on Mental Illness. Tips for managing the holiday blues.
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Harvey SB, Overland S, Hatch SL, Wessely S, Mykeltun A, Hotopf M. Exercise and the prevention of depression: Results of the HUNT cohort study. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2018;175(1):28-36. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16111223.
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