Christmas Blues

There's this mental affliction called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a form of depression that's triggered by the onset of the cold and longer nights; I have that. But on top of that there's something special about Christmas that makes people extra sad.

It's the time of year to be happy. Or, if you believe in the "war on Christmas", the time to be merry. Happy or merry, the holidays are a stereotypically cheerful time when everyone is supposed to be surrounded by loved ones and enjoying every second of it. But for some it's a particularly stressful time of the year. This may be caused by perceived obligations, organizing the mandatory family gathering, financial stress and the fear of disappointing the children or other family members, anxiety related to those family gatherings, and so on. The exaggerated portrayal of the holidays on TV, in movies, the media and on social media doesn't help either; it only causes people who are already lonely or cut of from their loved ones feel extra lonely.

This is, in my opinion, one of the signs of the ultimate atomization and commercialization of our society. People are increasingly locked up in their own personal bubble, and during the holidays this realization floats to the top of our consciousness. This is true all throughout the year in modern culture; we're surrounded by a constant buzz of happy people, mainly in commercials and in the workplace where happiness is all but mandatory. Cheer up! Or do you want to spoil the atmosphere for your colleagues? The commercials are especially harmful because they are a deliberate strategy to make us feel inadequate and unfulfilled; your life just isn't complete without our magnificent product, don't you know? The holidays are a near constant and ubiquitous commercial for the happy family life, a product that's simply unattainable for many lonely boxed-in people.

Christmas and other national holidays have become, just like every other aspect of our social lifes, an opportunity to sell, sell, sell! Which makes it our obligation to buy, buy, buy! I'm willing to bet that financial stress will skyrocket this holiday season. Many more parents will have to disappoint their children, and those children will see their peers play with shiny new toys they got from Santa. Now, I don't want to spoil anyone's pleasure from these merry days, but we don't think, speak, or do enough to alleviate the pressure and stress an increasing number of people experience during these times of mandatory happiness. Depression, anxiety and suicides are always highest during this last month of the year, as are the number of fake, plastic smiles.

What we can do personally is limited of course, but it won't harm anyone to just reach out to people you suspect might be suffering from this Christmas depression. In the end though, there's no doubt in my mind that things will get worse before they get better, just because our socioeconomic structures incentivize atomization. Here's another thing we can personally do: don't wait for the holidays to make contact with your family and friends. And I don't mean through Whatsapp, Twitter or Facebook, but in person. And turn of your mobile when you do. I've always found it remarkable that so many people need the excuse of Christmas, birthdays or deaths and funerals to get in contact with their family and friends. Let's not wait anymore. Maybe then Christmas will become less of a SAD season for so many of us...

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