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Once again it is that time of year. The Christmas, Hanukkah, and year end holidays are rapidity approaching and it’s time for Seasons greetings and to make merry.

Unfortunately, for many adults the time for “making merry” brings on symptoms of depression which can ruin the holidays or even worst. In a few conditions become so severe that suicide seems to be the only way out. This degree of severe depression is roughly fours times as common in males as females.

Depression can be a dangerous medical condition and needs to be treated. If you are feeling a bit down from time to time, that is normal. Most people have up days with a few down days mixed in along the way. Most of us are equipped to cope with the body’s bio rhythmic cycles and lifes occassional frustrations.

But if your down days persist you need to do something about it and fast. Even if you are nowhere near thinking seriously of doing yourself in, excessive bouts of depression can destroy relationships, ruin careers, lead to bad habits like taking illegal drugs, consuming too much alcohol, sleeping your life away, and generally causing life to be unpleasant to live. And as wonderful as life can be that is a real bummer.

If you are feeling down there is a website that I can recommend that has a lot of information about the causes, symptoms, and treatments for depression.

There is an online quiz that may help you to decide to take action and get a doctors opinion.

It also clearly states that anyone can get depression so don’t feel that you are at all alone. Millions of Americans suffer depression. In fact according to the information posted at the Depression.Com website 16% of all Americans will suffer from depression in their lifetimes. I expect there are many more countries where the percentages of adults suffering from depression is just as great. Americans are not the only ones with complicated lifestyles that seem to lead to depression disorders.

For large numbers of people in the Western world the Christmas holidays seem to bring on depression due to a number of reasons. While I am not a medical doctor and am therefore not offering an expert opinion it seems to me that the following factors contribute to the Christmas blues:
1. Financial worries. Christmas gift giving and holiday parties may place an unwelcome financial burden on individuals and families. There is a disconnect between the pleasure of giving an appropriate gift and having the means to easily pay for it.
2. Displacement. Americans tend to move around a lot. It’s not at all uncommon for family members to maintain separate households and to be scattered all over the map. This makes getting together for the holidays at times difficult. This can bring on the blues for those finding that they are all alone and isolated for the holidays.
3. Disconnect. There can be a tremendous disconnect between the ideal way the holidays are portrayed on TV and in the media and what people are actually experiencing. Perhaps a person has to work during the entire holiday period. The sight of a happy family on TV spending their Christmas holidays at a fancy ski resort or at a beach in the Caribbean may well bring on feelings of depression.
4. Relationships. A person who has recently ended a relationship or perhaps suffered through the death of a spouse or other loved one may have an especially difficult time getting through the holidays without becoming depressed.
5. Dissatisfaction. Being dissatisfied with ones position and perceived lack of progress and accomplishments in life can easily surface during the Christmas holidays. For one thing people usually have a bit of time off from work and have more time to think. Many people also conduct a year end mental review of how the year went for them. A poor year may upon reflection bring on depression.

OK, you are feeling depressed. What should you do? And what should you have done to prevent depression in the first place?

1. If your depression is severe see a doctor right away. Again I am not an MD so whatever I say herein this blog is strictly a lay mans opinion and should only be used as a general guideline. You should see a qualified doctor and candidly discuss your symptoms. If you feel deeply depressed for more than a day or two make that appointment.

2. Exercise. A regular routine of exercise can do wonders to prevent depression in the first place. Of course, prevention is always the best cure.

If you have not set up a regular exercise program for yourself and feel depression coming on it’s not too late. Go to the gym. Find a good professional trainer to help you get started. You will likely find that working out will give you a huge sense of relief. It’s a great way to fight the blues. You will also sleep more soundly at night which will make your days easier to get through.

3. Healthy diet. Eating well (and we don’t mean big mouthfuls of Big Macs and French Fries) can help to prevent depression as well as help to bring you out of it if you are felling overly depressed on a frequent basis. See a good dietitian and set up a heathy diet for yourself. This is a long term effort and may not help you this Christmas but it’s a good start for the next.

4. Good physical health. While anyone can get depression, even a world class athlete, generally a program of exercise and a healthy diet leading to maintaining good all around health will give you a big leg up in avoiding depression. It is difficult to become depressed when you are feeling great.

5. Don’t beat yourself up. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s better to admit them and move on than to dwell on them. Perfection is not possible for human beings. Accept that fact and make a conscious effort to learn from your experiences and to not repeat your mistakes.

6. Get out of the house. Even if you have no close friends nearby take a long walk in a safe public park, a garden, or nearby woods, and breathe some fresh air. Be aware. Put your senses to work and smell, feel, and touch the flowers and vegetation.

7. Do a good deed. This works far better than you might expect. Even if you are feeling down and out and truly depressed the simple act of raising to the occasion and helping a fellow human being will do wonders for your own self esteem and general well being. It’s a great way to kick the burden of depression right off your back.

The deed doesn’t have to be a grand deed in order for you to reap the benefit. Perhaps over the course of the year on your way to work you have walked past a poor homeless person a hundred times and always looked away to avoid eye contact. This time stop and wish that person a heartfelt Merry Christmas. Then give them what you can, five or ten dollars is probably enough to be sincerely appreciated, and see who benefits the most from the transaction and interaction.

Probably this is the best way of all to fight the Christmas depression blues. If you can fill the holidays with little acts of kindness, even if it’s just a big smile and cheerful greeting given freely to strangers, you will hardly have time to experience depression.

If at first due to your own depression you find it hard to be cheerful force yourself to make the effort. Look each person you greet in the eyes and feel the positive effect that your acts have upon others. As you perform little acts of kindness you will soon find your own spirits soaring.

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