Stress after the Holidays!
The holiday season can be a fun time of the year filled with parties, celebrations, and social gatherings with family and friends. But for many people, it is a time filled with sadness, self-reflection, loneliness, and anxiety. The holiday blues are caused through many factors: stress, fatigue, unrealistic expectations, overcommercialization, and financial and family stress. Sadness is a truly personal feeling. What makes one person feel sad may not affect another person. 

Some may experience post-holiday sadness after New Year's/January 1st. This can result from built-up expectations and disappointments from the previous year, coupled with stress, fatigue and the overwhelming feeling of another year.

Tips for coping with holiday stress and depression:

• Make realistic expectations for the new year.
• Set realistic goals for yourself.
• Be optimistic about the future. 
• Make a list and prioritize the important activities.
• Live "in the moment" and enjoy the present.
• Exercise to release endorphins.
• Volunteering some of your time to help others.
• Limit your consumption of alcohol (excessive drinking will increase feelings of depression).
• Contact a long lost friends or relatives.
• Make time for yourself!