New Year's Depression: What It Is, Why It Appears And How It Manifests Itself, Methods Of Struggle

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to deal with New Year's depression

New Year's depression is a condition that a person experiences, regardless of mood or genetic predisposition. The emergence and development of this deviation is influenced by household, biological and psychological factors, the concentration of which falls on the period of holidays. You can overcome such a disease by understanding what caused it.

Content

• 1 What is New Year's depression

  • 1.1 Video: features of holiday depression
  • 1.2 Symptoms of the disorder
  • 1.3 Why depression is born on New Year's Eve

• 2 How to cope with an illness

  • 2.1 Video: products for a bad mood
  • 2.2 Prevention of a nervous condition

What is New Year's Depression

Feeling discouraged, weak, and apathetic on the eve of the holidays is referred to as seasonal affective disorder. In winter, the following become critical for the body:

• reduced daylight hours;
• lack of sun;
• cold snap.

Quite objective factors contribute to the development of depressive sensations: a lack of heat and sunlight

Lying down at the basis of a depressive state and exacerbating during active preparation for the main celebration of the year, these factors contribute to:

• the development of drowsiness;
• depression;
• deficiency of vitamin D, which, in turn, reduces performance and intellectual capabilities;
• weakening stress resistance.

Lack of "sunshine vitamin" - vitamin D - causes weakness and insomnia

New Year's depression is a period of depression and increased anxiety, accompanied by an unwillingness to participate in holiday preparations and events. The level of emotionality of a person, his psychological characteristics and personal expectations from the impending vacation affect the strength of the manifestation of the main symptoms of the disorder. The risk group includes:

• individuals aged 15–50;
• people whose relatives had similar deviations;
• lonely individuals;
• young children responding to depressive adult behavior.

It is believed that women are four times more susceptible to this condition than men.

According to statistics, depression on New Year's Eve overcomes women 4 times more often than men

Video: features of holiday depression

Symptoms of the disorder

Feeling unwell begins with depression. Simple things that previously aroused positive emotions cease to please, the feeling of a holiday is lost, although preparations are already in full swing around.

The depressed state is accompanied by regular or periodic manifestations:

• chronic fatigue, even after a long rest;
• increased sleepiness;
• ambiguity of consciousness;
• eating disorder - exacerbation or vice versa, loss of appetite;
• decreased libido;
• apathy;
• frequent mood swings;
• irritability and sensitivity to comments.

Against the background of these symptoms, anxiety often develops, which is accompanied by fears and negative judgments about one's own life.

The end of the year makes you take stock, and the burden of unreached goals greatly reduces self-esteem and the desire to celebrate

The good news: for most people, this state disappears without a trace with the end of the vacation and return to the usual rhythm.

With the return of the usual routine and rhythm of life after the holidays, New Year's depression, as a rule, recedes

But in the case of suspicious, emotional people, initially prone to psychological disorders, apathy can persist for a long period and develop into a chronic state.

Overeating and the need to constantly chew something when the holiday feasts are long behind, often indicates the presence of depression

Why is depression born on New Year's Eve?

From a biological point of view, painful depression appears due to seasonal rearrangements of the internal clock - circadian rhythms are disrupted, which slows down the production of serotonin, and it is more difficult for a person to deal with stress.

In the winter season, the production of the hormone of happiness - serotonin - slows down

Considering the psychological aspects of the formation of depression, you need to remember:

• about everyday difficulties;
• conflicts at work and at home;
• failures in achieving the set goals.

All these factors negatively affect self-esteem, strengthen negative judgments in the mind and increase the apathetic mood on the holidays due to the presence of unresolved problems.

Exhausting New Year's troubles and unresolved problems accumulated over the year cause apathy in sensitive people

The physical side is no less significant. The development of the deviation is facilitated by:

• lack of sleep;
• inactivity;
• overeating;
• excessive alcohol consumption;
• smoking.

Surprisingly, drinking and eating too much can worsen apathy

Directly during the holidays, the causes of depression are:

• intense preparation: selection of gifts, home decoration, mutual congratulations, which must be carried out in a short time;

• unjustified expectations - on New Year's Eve you want a miracle, but in the morning the streets are empty and dirty dishes, as life continues to go on as usual;

  

  Starting the year by washing a mountain of dishes is an unattractive prospect

• poorly thought out action plan - it is not clear what to do when instead of work there is a lot of free time.

Few people plan New Year's holidays, but in vain, because then you just sit in an incomprehensible expectation, it is not clear what

New Year is a kind of borderline between what has been done and what has yet to be realized. During long reflections, you often come to the conclusion that too little has been done. This provokes self-flagellation and the accumulation of negative thoughts in the head, due to which tension builds up, and the body is in stress. This is exactly what the beginning of the New Year's depression looks like for me, so I made it a rule to focus primarily on the positive achievements of the past year.

A list of positive achievements over the past year will help you get rid of bad thoughts and tune in to new victories.

How to deal with an illness

If the denial of the holidays, pathological fatigue and dissatisfaction with your own life are a common state on New Year's Eve, consult a psychologist. Your doctor will prescribe antidepressants to help you deal with depression and apathy. But the therapy does not end there - for the treatment of New Year's depression they are prescribed:

• foods rich in fatty acids and promoting the production of serotonin: sea fish, caviar, avocado, bananas, dark chocolate;

  

  Include foods that help the body produce hormones of happiness and joy

• regular walks in the fresh air;

• normalization of sleep and wakefulness - you need to go to bed and get up at the same time;

  

  Do not neglect your daily routine during the holidays

• phototherapy - daily exposure to a bright light source for 15–45 minutes;

  

  frost and sun? - urgently go for a walk!

• increasing physical activity: aerobics, dancing, strength training, stretching.

  

  Going to the gym, swimming pool or just running through the frost will help keep the festive mood as good as New Year's fairs.

Video: products for a bad mood

Prevention of a nervous condition

To avoid getting caught up in an unpleasant disorder, follow these guidelines:

• make a shopping and to-do list two to three weeks before the celebration;

  

  plan your preparations for the holiday and make a shopping list in advance

• plan your activities for the holidays so as not to sit around and not give free rein to negative thoughts;

• communicate, do not shield yourself from society - in the process of a simple conversation, anxieties go away;

  

  do not lock yourself in four walls, go to visit, to Christmas trees, meet with friends

• constantly change the type of activity during the preparation for the main feast and on vacation, alternate entertainment, rest and performing everyday tasks;

• pamper yourself - regardless of whether everything was done in a year or not, you deserve it;

  

  In the New Year, pamper not only children, but also yourself

• consciously transfer everything unfinished to the next year, noting the time frame for completing the goals;
• do not expect a miracle, create it with your own hands and remember that the coming of next year is a continuation of real life.

A winter walk in combination with a well-thought-out vacation program will become a real New Year's miracle for every family member and help avoid depression.

Often the appearance of New Year's depression is explained by the inability to rest. Dedicating time to work and household chores, a person forgets about the need to periodically relieve stress, which leads to the accumulation of negative emotions and the formation of affective disorder. By giving this issue enough attention, this condition can be avoided.