Mental health professionals encourage 'self-help' activities during holiday season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- While the holiday season can be a time of joy for many people, it can also cause feelings of anxiety, dread and loneliness for others.

Some feelings of anxiety can be triggered by the anticipation of spending more time with family, or for other people, the alternative: feeling lonely because of lack of plans.

Kilgore Samaritan Counseling Center in Louisville said it sees an increase in patient needs around this time of year.

"It's a pressure-packed time of year and it can be not so wonderful," said Barry Winstead, clinical director at Kilgore Samaritan Counseling Center.

Winstead said being more self-aware can help people get through the holidays and not let negative emotions take over.

"I think it's even more important to do all those good self-help activities, whether that's meditation or doing your exercises, all those self-care things that we need to be doing," Winstead said. "You need to be doing those things even more during these pressure-packed times of life."

Feelings of anxiety and depression can also be enhanced during the winter months. The American Psychiatric Association estimates 5% of adults in the U.S. suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is one of those illnesses that specifically affects people during the winter months, when the weather is cold and the nights are long. SAD is a subtype of depression caused by lack of sunlight.

SAD is “much less common” during summer and spring months, when there are typically long hours of sunlight, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Lighting has been shown to have a very strong affect on people’s sleep patterns, Vitamin D absorption and moods.

Although lack of sunlight is a primary factor in most cases of SAD, there are also other elements that can lead to depression during winter.

Weather is one factor. Colder temperatures, rain and snow can make spending time outside difficult and can decrease motivation to leave the home. It can also make outdoor exercise difficult; exercise helps produce endorphins.

When daily activities are hampered, particularly those that involve self-care, depression can worsen.

Symptoms of SAD typically include those found in most types of depression: decreased motivation, fatigue and irritability. SAD is also characterized by excessive sleep, though in some cases people report sleeping less than usual.

The first step to treating SAD is to receive an official diagnosis from a medical professional. If a patient is diagnosed, there are a variety of ways to treat the disorder.

A common way to combat SAD is light therapy. Light therapy lamps can be set up in a workplace and are used to try to alleviate SAD with direct artificial lighting.