‘Tis the season for depression and anxiety for a lot of people. Public gatherings, financial stress, family conflicts, lack of close friends and family, feeling excluded from religious celebrations and so many more things can make a time of year typically characterized as “merry and bright” feel very much the opposite. Psych Central offers “7 Ways to Beat the Holiday Blues” in a recent post, and we thought we’d share an excerpt here. If you’re in the greater Cleveland area and want more help than this list provides, we hope you’ll reach out.
We all know that many people suffer from holiday depression at this time of the year. Now research lights the way to defeating the holiday blues. Studies by Jorge Moll and colleagues (2006), Doug Oman (1999), Stephanie Brown (2003), and Rachel Piferi (2006) show that there are both physical and psychological benefits to giving.
So, that said, here are seven ways to give.
ONE. VOLUNTEER. The best way to get out of your depression—and get out of your brooding inner thoughts—is to give to others who are perhaps less fortunate than you. So volunteer to work in a soup kitchen, a hospital, a hospice or some other similar place. When you are devoting yourself to others you raise your own spirits as well as the spirits of the people you help. And you meet others who are doing likewise and may end up making new friends.
TWO. GIVE TO THE NEEDY. Another way of getting out of your funk is to make gifts for the needy. There are many places during the holidays that collect gifts for the needy. Instead of giving cans of beans, make something. Put your creativity and time into it. Build birdhouses, crochet scarves, paint pictures, bake cakes, or write poems. Do whatever you do best and share these products with those who will appreciate the effort you put into it. You’ll feel better and so will they.