Pick-Me-Up for Holiday Depression

Every doc knows holidays can be paradoxically depressing. If you know someone who needs a pick-me-up try Hyperbole and a Half!

Image by the imitable Allie Brosch from Hyperbole and a Half

We don’t often talk about holiday depression. But doctors, police officers, and mental health professionals all know its way more common than most people know.

Causes of holiday depression

We're presented with a lot of advertising over the holidays, and while everyone likes getting gifts, the conscious and subconscious marketing messages tend to skew towards a mythical, perfectly-happy, upper class, heterosexual, white family.

None of actually fit this meme, so its normal to feel disappointed a bit about the messy reality that we all have nose hair, poop, and probably should have been nicer at our last family reunion or lack thereof :)

Also, lots of people get seasonal depression when the snow flies and the days shorten in the North. Mood isn't always logical, so even if you ARE living in a commercial you still might feel down for no apparent reason.

One of my go-to people for low mood is Allie Brosh, the brilliant, clever woman who writes and draws so eloquently about being in the pits. I think Allie’s work helps, because it reminds us that its okay to be flawed, it’s part of what makes us human. When we hear Allie talk about her flaws — we love her, and this helps us accept and love ourselves.

My grown-up Christmas wish is that we become more open and intelligent about what happy families look like. That we get better at recognizing and dealing with sadness. Allie wherever you are, happy holidays!

#depression #holidays #hyperboleandahalf @AllieBrosh #Empulse #Empulsive #todreamalife