Dealing with the Holiday Blues

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The holiday season may bring on the blues for some people. New Mexico State University's Anna María Pérez-Wright has ideas for dealing with those feelings.

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Even though the holidays are supposed to be a time of good will toward others, some people find themselves becoming cranky, having trouble sleeping or becoming overly emotional. Marriage and family therapy professor Robert Del Campo with New Mexico State University calls this the holiday blues, or short-term depression. He says these feelings come when we have unrealistic expectations for the holidays, such as wanting to buy gifts we can't afford or trying to recreate magical childhood memories.

Many times we think of loved ones who have passed away and how much we used to enjoy the holidays with them and it brings us down. I want people to understand these are typical thoughts that people have and they can trigger short-term depression."

Del Campo says the best way to handle these feelings is to deal with them head on. If you feel like crying, cry. If you feel like getting angry, allow yourself to get mad.

"Instead of fighting with the feelings, go with them. Allow yourself to experience them but set a deadline. I'm gonna cry tonight for a half hour before I go to bed I will be angry until I finish work and I turn the key in my office. If you do this and then truly embrace the feelings, eventually you will be able to let them go."

Del Campo says if these feelings endure after the holidays and you can't work through them, it may be more serious than the holiday blues and you may consider getting professional help. For N-M-S-U's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, I'm Anna María Pérez-Wright.