Massillion Independent, Dec. 11, 2007
By ERIN PUSTAY, Erin.Pustay@IndeOnline.com
Christmas schedules have a way of taking the happiest "Who" and turning him into a through-and-through "Grinch."
With cookies to bake, shopping to do, presents to wrap, decorations to hang, Christmas cards to send, parties to attend, bills to pay and dinners to cook, it's easy to let the moment sweep you up and the stress take you over.
Dr. Abbas Sadeghian, a clinical neuropsychologist with Aultman, said that during the holidays, many adults struggle with anxiety. The idea of depression taking hold and turning any white Christmas blue is, by and large, a myth. It's hard to catch the blues, he said, when you're just trying keep up the holiday pace.
"It is a hectic, stressful time and it gets mixed up with financial issues, family issues and all of these things come down on you like an avalanche," Sadeghian said. "(Stress) starts right after Thanksgiving and stays for a good month."
The key to keeping the holidays low key is learning to manage your time and resources, Sadeghian said. If you take time every day to prepare for the holidays, you'll be happier, healthier and far less stressed.
"During the holidays, the best way of handling it is early planning, which most of us don't do," Sadeghian said. "It's like paying taxes on time, we all wait until April 15."
Sadeghian also suggested keeping the merry days in perspective. Know that things will not always be perfect and problems may arise. If you keep your expectations realistic, you're more likely to have a happier holiday.
That rosy outlook and happy holiday spirit needs to carry into the new year. That is when the bigger issues regarding depression arise. In fact, Sadeghian noted, his office takes the most client calls on Jan. 2. As soon as the holidays are over, that's when people find themselves fighting the winter blahs.
"(The holidays) suddenly and abruptly finish ... and you have a new year where you have to go back to work knowing that there is going to be three months of awful weather with no more holidays and bills coming from everywhere," Sadeghian said. "That is when you get really depressed."
Keeping your spirits up through Christmas and the spring thaw involves a change in routine and an effort to schedule time for yourself.
"If you stay home and go to work and suffer all Ohio winter, you can bet that you are going to get depressed," Sadeghian said. "If you don't want to be depressed, come up with ways of (breaking that routine). If you do this, it won't be a long, torturous winter."
Something as simple as having coffee with friends once a week, working crossword puzzles or opening the shades to let in the sunlight can help make the long months ahead a little easier to manage.
