When Christmas is NOT the ‘Most Wonderful’ Time of the Year
With just over a week to go until Christmas, the advertising and commercialism is in full swing, depicting happy families enjoying the festive period.
However, for many people, that is far from reality. Most people don’t spend December in a non-stop social whirl of parties and many find Christmas Day itself a bit of a let-down.
Christmas can become a time of sadness, loneliness and depression. Add to that stress and anxiety about keeping up with arrangements and perceived expectations and it can be a very difficult time of year indeed.
Depression Triggers
It helps to understand what can cause depression at this time of year, so that the factors can be recognised and mitigated where possible:
- Stress
- Tiredness
- Unrealistic expectations
- Over-commercialisation
- Money worries
- Loneliness
- Reminders of loss and bereavement
Tips for Coping with Christmas Stress
- Talk about it – explain to friends/family how Christmas makes you feel and get some help
- Don’t take on more than you need to – reduce stress by not spreading yourself too thin
- Don’t give into the hype – keep your expectations sensible
- At the other end of the scale, don’t be too pessimistic
- Keep healthy – too much indulgent food and too little exercise don’t help
- Get outside every day – a blast of fresh air and sunlight can be very beneficial – take a daily walk over the festive period to boost circulation and feelings of wellbeing
- Volunteer – get involved in one of the many charity projects over Christmas or just help an elderly neighbour
- Do something different – go away or have a day out to escape the pressures
- Don’t drink too much – a hangover is the last thing you need if you’re already down
- Make sure you sleep enough – staying up late too often can leave you feeling tired
If you have concerns that you may be clinically depressed, where symptoms are profound and the feelings aren’t changing – or you know that you have depression, do seek medical help.
Depression Treatment
The most common options for treating depression within the NHS are generally medication (antidepressants) or talking therapies like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). Sometimes complementary therapies are available (e.g. exercise on prescription).
Medication-Free Depression Treatment
Depression treatment doesn’t have to mean anti-depressants or tranquillisers. These can have quite unpleasant side-effects for some patients. They can ‘dull’ emotion rather than lifting the cloud of depression and are also difficult to come off once they’ve been taken for a while.
rTMS (Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) is an alternative treatment which uses uses magnetic waves working directly on specific areas of the brain.
The treatment has been approved by NICE as an effective and safe method of treating depression in the UK and many patients have been able to improve their mood and wellbeing after treatment.
Smart TMS Clinics
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a technological breakthrough in the treatment of depression. The treatment is now available in London, based at The Smart Clinics Brompton Cross (South Kensington).
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