2020 has been a very difficult year for literally everyone on the planet for one or more reasons. Our entire heretofore “normal” way of life has been turned completely upside-down, and most of us are well beyond the point of being tired of having to limit our exposure to the outside world. This has been happening since early spring, which means that we are now nine months into trying to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as best we can. Fortunately, the holiday season will cheer people up, right? For too many people, the opposite is true, as the holiday blues are also here for too many people.
To be honest, the term “holiday blues” isn’t really all that accurate, as what it describes is in most cases the presence of real mental health challenges that are exacerbated at this time of year. Swift Recovery Solutions is a team of mental health professionals who work with people from all over the country deal with their mental health difficulties. Truth be told, people who share our mission in helping those who need it tend to get busy this time of year, and that’s actually a very good thing, as every call, every email and every attempt to reach out is another attempt by someone to get help. Below we’re going to lay out a common real-life scenario that may sound familiar to you, and if it does, contact us to talk things through.
A Day In the Life of “Holiday Blues”
Your alarm goes off, and you notice that instead of getting up at 6 a.m. when it makes its first sound, you smack that clock and hit the snooze button. You don’t just hit it once, but several times. By the time you actually pull yourself out of bed, it’s 6:45. You start to think about what you need to do that day, but quickly feel overwhelmed and try to wipe your mind clean before heading to the coffee pot. You may have a conference call at 7 a.m., but you’ll be late – that’s fine.
You check your phone and see several texts from family members. “Did you get that gift for your brother?” “Have you decided on what you want to do for New Year’s Eve?” “Are you going to remain isolated and only visit us virtually this year?”
You don’t really want to deal with any of these questions. You haven’t bought anything for anyone yet and it’s December 21. Your head hurts from all the drinks you had by yourself the previous night and you just want to get back into bed. You log onto your videoconference at 7:20 and mumble something to the other participants about how your Internet connection has been choppy lately before sitting there for the final 10 minutes of the meeting.
You spend a good part of the rest of the day just biding your time, with your mind searching for something, anything to make you feel happy. The trouble is, there really isn’t anything to look forward to. You can’t travel, so while you’re secretly relieved that you don’t have to go spend several days with family, that also means that there is no vacation to look forward to in January. There are no holiday parties this year, at least none that you’d attend, because public health officials have strongly warned against this. You’ve basically been alone for days now, and there’s no end in sight.
Mercifully, 3:30 p.m. finally arrives, and you figure that’s late enough in the day to walk away from your computer and not work anymore that day, not that you really got much accomplished in the first place. You’ll leave your system on just in case you need to respond to something that someone randomly sends. You really hope that doesn’t happen, because you’re sick of this job anyway.
You pour that first drink just before 4 p.m. and start thinking about what you’re going to order for dinner. There’s no real reason to cook, as it’s just you, so why bother? You decide, once again, on pizza, as that’s been a mainstay. Just then, your phone starts blowing up. Friends and loved ones once again want to know what’s happening for the holidays, as you haven’t really responded to anyone about any of this. That’s because you really don’t care.
Before you know it, the clock says 10:30 and you’ve had quite a few drinks, just as you have for several nights in a row now. You start wondering how late you can stay up and still at least give the appearance of being ready to get to work in the morning, and an hour later you decide that perhaps it’s time to turn in for the night. You lay in bed, unhappy that before you know it, you’re going to be hitting that snooze button again.
Holiday Blues Are No Joke – Get the Help You Need
For some people, the holiday blues are just something that comes and goes because of things like the stress of organizing things for people, spending a lot of money or simply living outside of your usual routine for a few weeks. For others who experience days like the one described above, it could be indicative of a real problem. Several studies have shown that a majority of people who suffer from mental illness have those conditions worsen during the holiday season. Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with something, that doesn’t mean that you aren’t struggling with a real challenge.
The best thing to do if you’re having days like this is to at least find out if you have a problem that needs treatment. You can reach out to Swift Recovery Solutions at any time. Our team of mental health professionals will help you understand what could be happening and recommend a course of action. If you do need professional help, we’ll even deal with your insurance company so you don’t have to fight through all of that red tape.
If nothing else, give yourself the gift of hope this holiday season. That starts by talking to us about your problems. Every conversation is entirely confidential, so you have nothing to lose. Let us know how you’re doing today if you’re struggling and we’ll figure out a way to help.
