The holiday depression

If in late autumn, on your favorite service healingjourney.ai, you talk with your AI counselor about what you can expect in the coming period, it may warn you of one upcoming phenomenon. Artificial intelligence has insight into a lot of data, and some of it says that during the holidays, some people feel especially bad. It is called holiday depression.

What is a holiday depression?

The term holiday depression describes a decline in mood and a type of melancholy, which from time to time can happen to each of us and should be distinguished from clinical depression, which requires longer treatment and psychotherapy. Holiday season is full of potential triggers. It is important to delineate whether this mood happens every year in winter, because if so, it could be a seasonal affective disorder. If not, it may be depression triggered and exacerbated by holiday-related stressors.

The bad mood associated with the holidays can be divided into the one before and the one after the holiday.

Pre-holiday depression

To be more precise, this refers to a feeling of sadness, anxiety, or dissatisfaction that can occur before, but also during the festive period, such as Christmas, New Year, or other significant events. Although the holidays are often seen as a time of joy and togetherness, they can cause emotional stress for certain individuals.

Triggers of pre-holiday depression

Pressure to feel happy

It is natural to feel happy when we achieve a goal and when there is a positive change in our life, but is the fact that today is a specific date in the calendar enough to make us happy? We will soon see that it is just the date when we are under special stress. If we don't feel very well, and we have the impression that all of us expect to feel happy, we perceive this absence of euphoria as if something is wrong and we become unhappy.

Exaggerated expectations

Similar to the expectations that others have of us, or that we think they have, we have some expectations of ourselves. In TV commercials, everyone is smiling, the air is full of love, all family members love each other and are happy that the day is going perfectly. But it's not like that in your home. You expected this to be the most beautiful day of the past year, but it turned out to be quite average. You think that it shouldn't be happening. Your high expectations have led you to disappointment. But were they justified?

Interpersonal relations

Interpersonal relationships can be tense, conflictual, or stressful at any time, but tensions are usually elevated during the holidays.

The holidays are a time when we spend more time together. Family misunderstandings and conflicts can intensify – especially if they are all directed at each other over the course of several days. Personal boundaries are a big topic and holiday gatherings are also a test of our boundaries, to see how much we have worked on ourselves during the year and how far we have progressed. It is enough to bring together so many different personalities, needs and interests. For some, this is imposed by spending time in the family as a result of disrupted family relationships.

On the other hand, if you wait for the holidays without someone, you may feel lonely or sad. If you have recently lost a someone close, the holiday will remind you that you are now alone, and you wish you were not. Sometimes even people who are very independent and self-reliant and who otherwise enjoy their solitude and freedom may feel emptiness during the holiday period, mostly due to social pressure.

In the next article, we will see that the period after holidays can also be challenging.