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Enjoying the
Winter Holiday Season
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

By Mary Ellen Copeland, M.S., M.A.

continued

Too Much To Do, Not Enough Time

As the holidays approach, your expectations of what you will do or need to do may increase. In addition, the expectations that others have of you may increase as well. For instance, there may be foods you have always been responsible for cooking, gifts you are expected to buy and decorating to do, as well as obligations in your place of worship and the community. You may also want to be part of outreach to others who are less fortunate. At some point you begin to feel totally overwhelmed. What can you do?

1. Assess the things you have planned to do over the next month or two. Write them down. Check off those that you really enjoy and that are most meaningful to you. For instance, if you always get together with your sister whom you see only once a year on a certain day, that may be very important to you. But writing holiday greeting cards may feel like an overwhelming chore. Then, stop doing those things that you don't check, the things that you least enjoy. You may want to confer with family members as you change these plans. When I first did this – stopped making holiday cookies and breads – I thought I would hear all kinds of complaints from my adult children. They barely noticed!

2. Be creative about gift giving. If gift giving is part of your holiday tradition that you want to keep, and you find the crowds, lines, and time difficult to manage, you might consider shopping through catalogues and the Internet. Your family might be willing to exchange simple handmade gifts rather the more costly and labor intensive purchased gifts. Another option would be for each family member to choose one other person they will buy a gift for, insuring that everyone receives a gift without this being a hassle for anyone. If your gift giving includes gifts for members of other families like aunts, uncles and cousins, you may want to consider one family gift, rather than individual gifts for each person.

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3. Be ready when others ask you to do things. Avoid saying "yes" right away. Instead say, "I'll think about it and get back to you." Then consider carefully if this is something you really want to do before you say yes.

4. Take time to relax without feeling guilty about it. Play some music you love. Take off your shoes. Loosen your clothing. Lean back. Spend the next few minutes, or an hour or two, doing absolutely nothing. You deserve this time to yourself!

5. Check out any new physical and emotional symptoms or any that have worsened. Don't delay getting health care because you are too busy, you think these symptoms will go away after the holidays or that you just have "the holiday blues." The stress, cold and darkness of the winter season make everyone more vulnerable to illness.

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