For many, Christmas is a time full of happy moments, occasions to share with family and friends, decorations, lights and gifts… but many others experience these dates in a very different way and are overcome with sadness, reluctance, bad mood or the inability to enjoy things that you could before. If the latter is your case, you may be suffering from the so-called ‘Christmas blues’ or ‘white depression’, which luckily disappears in January with the end of the holidays.
Christmas is one of the times of the year when the most emotions are experienced in all senses; There are those who find it their favorite time in which they relive moments of happiness and a nostalgia full of good memories, but there are many who feel alone, are invaded by painful memories or miss those who are no longer with excessive pain.
Raquel Tomé López, psychologist and psychotherapist at the Madrid Guide Center for Psychology and Psychotherapy, tells La Vanguardia what ‘white depression’ consists of, what its symptoms are, why these dates are difficult for many and how to cope with them in the best possible way. way possible.
The so-called ‘white depression’ or ‘Christmas blues’ “are persistent feelings of sadness that appear during the last months of the year, in November and December, because we face dates that are not easy for many people to navigate,” explains Raquel Tomé. , who clarifies that it is rather a state of mind, since “these feelings of persistent sadness are not currently considered a mental disorder since it is not included as a diagnostic pathology within the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.” , but a whole series of signs and symptoms do appear that generate real discomfort.”
And there are many people who suffer from it, we just need to look around or inside ourselves to realize that among the lights, the Christmas carols and the bright shop windows, there are those who suffer from sadness, anxiety, irritability, loneliness, etc. They are people who listen to the ‘Christmas blues’.
Just because you don’t really like Christmas and even identify to some extent with the Grinch doesn’t mean you’re under the influence of the ‘Christmas Blues’. The symptoms are more related to sadness and melancholy, since the term refers to the word ‘blue’ which means “sadness” or “melancholy” in colloquial English.
According to the psychotherapist, “these signs and symptoms are of less intensity and duration” than typical depression, and there are “a series of signs that can indicate that the person is going through Christmas depression, such as changes in appetite or weight, changes in sleep patterns, depressed or irritable moods, anhedonia or difficulty feeling pleasure in things you used to enjoy, feeling tense and worried, being more tired than usual, etc.”
On the other hand, “many people experience melancholic feelings when missing missing or deceased loved ones and family tensions and anticipating these conflicts are also influenced. There is also financial stress due to not having enough money or spending too much,” adds Tomé.
And Christmas can be crazy days; of events to attend, of gifts to think about and buy, of expectations to meet… that is why many experts point to anxiety and stress as other of the main ailments of the ‘White Depression’.
How to face these dates if we suffer from this real discomfort? “The first thing is to adjust our expectations, sometimes unrealistic, where we enter into a frenzy of meetings, activities and preparations that are not negative in themselves, but leave us exhausted, so we have to alternate the activity with rest breaks. and stillness,” advises the psychologist.
Alcohol does nothing to keep our emotions under control; it generally exacerbates them if the environment is not very favorable. “When it comes to managing family tensions and the stress of the holidays, drinking excessively does not help us since it often causes tensions to be resolved in arguments, so we must try to face them with a certain moderation” according to Raquel Tomé, who insists that “not drinking excessively helps us with our own emotional self-regulation in the face of negative emotions and tense situations.”
Gifts are ubiquitous elements at Christmas, so shopping and choosing the best for our loved ones is a common activity at this time, but it is much more pleasant for those who do not have to worry about money and can be a frustrating torture for those who don’t have enough. “Regarding financial stress, proper planning and thinking about our budget in a realistic way will save us a lot of tension,” advises the psychologist consulted by La Vanguardia.
Unwanted loneliness is a scourge that is exacerbated at Christmas, when all messages are aimed at enjoying moments with family and friends. “With regard to the feeling of isolation and loneliness, these dates are especially difficult for some people who are alone or without family and we encourage us to undertake some activity around solidarity and social commitment with other people who are in disadvantaged situations.” “It can help us get out of ourselves and give something of ourselves to others,” the psychotherapist proposes.
And “in the event that we have to face painful losses, Christmas is a time in which we connect with spiritual traditions and these help us reconnect with a transcendent vision of life. “All of them are valid positive coping strategies.”
The good news is that, if what we suffer from is ‘White Depression’, the symptoms should dissipate with the holidays. “The signs that appear in Christmas depression are of lower intensity and duration than those that can appear in a depressive episode and they resolve and disappear when we face the month of January,” Tomé ventures. “If these signs and symptoms persist over time, you should consult with a professional who could help you with your psychological and emotional discomfort.”
In addition to the ‘Christmas Blues’, during these winter days there is the so-called seasonal affective disorder, whose symptoms are similar and cause feelings of sadness to invade us, but they are not the same. “Seasonal affective disorder appears mainly in the winter season and is also characterized by a low mood, low energy, sleep disturbances, irritability, but unlike ‘White Depression’, it is much more related to the amount of light.” during the day and the secretion of the hormone melatonin, while Christmas depression affects a whole series of stress factors that appear during these holidays that have much more to do with the emotional journey we undertake when Christmas arrives and also with a series of stress factors that appear at this time, which is a period of many emotions and demands.”
Science explains why winter makes us sad: the more hours of sunshine and more luminosity, the fewer emotional problems occur, as confirmed by the results of the study Effect of sunlight and the season on the rotation of serotonin in the brain .
Serotonin, also known as the ‘happiness hormone’, is a neurotransmitter closely related to the control of emotions and mood, since when its levels increase it produces feelings of well-being, relaxation, satisfaction and increases concentration. and self-esteem. But in the winter months, when there are fewer hours of daylight, less of this hormone is produced, causing a worse mood and more lack of energy.
In addition, schedule changes do not help either since they affect circadian rhythms, which is a kind of biological clock that living beings have that tells us the natural cycles of day and night, sleep and wakefulness every 24 hours. This causes the flowers to open in the morning or causes us to suffer from jet lag and also affects the seasons of the year.
In this sense, a study from the University of Glasgow published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry reveals that alterations in the circadian rhythm are associated with a greater probability of suffering from mood disorders such as depression and bipolarity and even having less sensation. of well-being and more instability.
Thus, both the dark winter and the bright Christmas can make us sad, but whether it is ‘White Depression’ or a seasonal affective disorder, the symptoms should dissipate as the holidays move away or the sun appears.