BEING DEPRESSED AT CHRISTMAS

Nov 30, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

The Christmas season is upon us and Guyanese from all walks of life at home and in the diaspora will be celebrating the festive season. Christmas is a time of joy, peace, goodwill towards all mankind.
In Guyanese tradition, Christmas is a time to celebrate with family and friends, enjoy the festivities, attend parties and partake in some of the finest Christmas dishes. It is the happiest time of the year for many. However, many are depressed at Christmas, especially if they are estranged from their family, do not have friends or are jobless, poor and homeless.
According to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is the time of the year with the highest incidence of depression, suicide or attempted suicide. One root cause is loneliness.
Depression is a form of anxiety and deep sadness. It is fostered by loneliness. It is no respecter of persons. And even though it happens quite often, it should not be considered normal. It is recommended that those suffering from depression should seek help.
However, health experts insist that it is not normal for people to feel depressed during the Christmas holidays, especially if they had suffered the loss of loved ones or their jobs.
We live in a society that is very individualistic; everyone is expected to take care of themselves. But this is not the case because a large segment of our society is poor and therefore needs assistance.
Psychologists and other mental health professionals have listed a multitude of reasons for people becoming depressed during the Christmas holidays. One reason is because of the excessive commercialization of the season, with the focus on social activities and the pressure to purchase gifts for friends and family members.
A second reason is Christmas appears to be a time when people tend to engage in excessive self-reflection and rumination about their inadequacies in life. A third reason is that many dread the Christmas holidays because of the expectations for social gatherings with family, friends and acquaintances that they had rather not spend time with.
In cases it would appear that being depressed during the Christmas season has more to do with not having money. For the more fortunate, it is an opportunity to reach out to those who are depressed.
In the Northern Hemisphere the physical conditions do foster depression. The dark, grey skies and the wintery surroundings are depressing. The short days and long nights force many people to remain indoors and away from company for so much longer. During that time people do spend a lot of time thinking.
Being alone often induces people to do things that they would not normally do. There is always the resort to alcohol to curb boredom. And alcohol is known to trigger depression. In Guyana research showed that most of the suicides were committed by alcoholics.
They would come home and for many reasons they would simply end their own lives.
In the depressing winter environment the people are victims of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is caused by a lack of vitamin D through the decreased sunshine which cause a drop in the brain’s production of serotonin.
Many households try to keep children around so that the adults can feed off the energy displayed by these children.
Fortunately for us in Guyana, although Christmas is a Christian holiday it is celebrated by all so that the joys felt by any one group are spread. This surely minimizes the extent of depression in our society.
And as we prepare we must recognize that depression can strike at any time. We must always strive to be happy.

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