{"id":84,"date":"2016-12-05T17:37:47","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T22:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/?p=84"},"modified":"2016-12-05T17:37:47","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T22:37:47","slug":"the-holiday-blues-recognize-resist-and-reach-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/?p=84","title":{"rendered":"The Holiday Blues – Recognize, Resist, and Reach Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Winter<\/a>THE HOLIDAY BLUES by Laura Frazier, Ph.D.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we are officially in the throes of the holiday season.\u00a0 The holidays bring a lot of happiness as we spend time celebrating with family and friends, yet this time of year can also be extremely overwhelming and stressful.\u00a0 Individuals who already struggle with mental health concerns need to take extra precautions during this hectic time of year.<\/p>\n

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) defines the holiday blues as \u201ctemporary feelings of anxiety or depression during the holidays that can be associated with extra stress, unrealistic expectations or even memories that accompany the season.\u201d\u00a0 Individuals may experience fatigue, tension, loneliness, frustration, sadness, or a sense of loss.\u00a0 For some, this may be the first holiday after a loved one has passed, and thus, they need to grieve this loss and learn how to experience the holiday without this person present.\u00a0 For others, they may be struggling with eating concerns, and going to a party that centers on food is extremely difficult.\u00a0 I have worked with several individuals who experience intense anxiety at the thought of having to eat an entire plate of food in front of others.\u00a0 It helps to prepare for these events by developing a structured plan, implementing anxiety reducing techniques, and identifying a support network.<\/p>\n

The NAMI definition of the holiday blues includes the term \u201cunrealistic expectations.\u201d\u00a0 Often, we get caught up in the things we \u201chave to do,\u201d ultimately leading us to create our own stress.\u00a0 Instead, it might be helpful to make a list of the things you have to do and want to do.\u00a0 Then, identify just two or three items that are important to you, giving yourself permission to let go of the other items.\u00a0 I always enjoy putting Christmas lights on the house.\u00a0 However, this is quite a tedious task for something that lasts only a few weeks.\u00a0 It often feels like I finally get the lights up, only to spend hours taking them back down again.\u00a0 This year, I decided to do things differently.\u00a0 I had to \u201clet go\u201d of wanting my house lined with lights, and instead placed two 4 foot pre-lit trees on the front lawn.\u00a0 Arranging these lights took no more than 5 minutes, and I am sure that removing them will take even less time.<\/p>\n

So during this holiday season, be mindful of the holiday blues.\u00a0 If you are feeling lonely, reach out.\u00a0 Be sure to take time to invest in yourself each day.\u00a0 Spend less time trying to \u201cdo it all,\u201d and more time enjoying what the season has to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*For more information about eating concerns and the holidays, please refer to the National Eating Disorders Association (nationaleatingdisorders.org).<\/p>\n

*For more information on grief and the holidays, please refer to http:\/\/grief.com\/grief-the-holidays\/<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Laura Frazier, Ph.D. is a clinician with CPE Clinic, LLC.\u00a0 She recently re-located back to Maryland with her husband and family.\u00a0 As a mother of three young children, she has prioritized her practice to treating families and children from birth to college, specifically postpartum depression, psycho-educational testing, and anxiety and depression in children, teens, and emerging adults.\u00a0 She has a unique perspective into and sub-specializes in treating those with Dysautonomia and POTS. \u00a0 To read more about her, please click here<\/a>. \u00a0<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE HOLIDAY BLUES by Laura Frazier, Ph.D. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we are officially in the throes of the holiday season.\u00a0 The holidays bring a lot of happiness as we spend time celebrating with family and friends, yet this … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/WinterBlues-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions\/86"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpeclinicblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}