Surviving the Christmas blues
Do you dread the Christmas family tradition? The obligations and expectations family places on you during the festive season?
Sadag (South African Depression and Anxiety Group) realises that no one experiences the same feelings of joy over the holidays and everyone copes differently.
If you associate the holidays with a bad time in your life – the loss of a loved one, a previous depression – this time of year will naturally bring those memories back.
For people who have recently lost a loved one or are spending their first Christmas alone due to a recent divorce or even relocation. Christmas and family gatherings could be incredibly stressful.
The extra financial burden during this time can also make ones celebrations feel very low.
Do you dread the Christmas family tradition? The obligations and expectations family places on you during the festive season? Maybe for you, like so many others, the biggest source of holiday stress is the family. This could also be for so many a time of loneliness, sadness and grief.
There’s this idea or rule from society that holiday gatherings with family are supposed to be fun and stress-free. The reality is that family relationships are complicated and can be full of stress. But that’s not a reason to ignore the holidays completely.
Zane Wilson, Founder of Sadag knows how hard the Festive Season can be for so many and says that, “It so important to keep our lines open during this time to help those in need and for us to help provide useful and helpful ways of coping during the holidays”.
SADAG will be open throughout the Festive Season, including Christmas and New Year’s Day, “depression and suicidal thoughts don’t go away or stop just because of a special day or holiday,” Zane Wilson says and encourage anyone to call us on 0800 21 22 23 or 0800 12 13 14 (24 hours) in their time of need.
