Coping with Holiday Stress

The holiday season can create added stress including feelings of depression, anxiety, tension and loneliness.

The Mayo Clinic reports up to 69% of people are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time,” 69% are stressed by perceiving a “lack of money,” and 51% are stressed out about the “pressure of give or get gifts and holiday stress has a particular impact on women.

“Ideally everyone would like to have aHappy Holiday season, but for some people that is not the reality. There can be the anxiety, pressure and tension associated with the month of December and even November, starting with Thanksgiving,” Dr. Marcelo Rodriguez-Chevres said.

Dr. Rodriguez tells ABC-7, the symptoms can linger throughout the year but feelings of depression and loneliness can be triggered during the holiday season. Oftentimes, people suppress those feelings and avoid treatment and medication altogether.

“Most people think, that the holidays is a part where the psyhciatric hospitals are full and offices are jammed with people coming in and that’s not necessarily the case,” Dr. Rodriguez said.

A new app called “Mental Health and You” can help with those types of feelings. The app includes information on signs and symptoms, and when you type in your zip code, will provide information on local and national resources.

“It isn’t always feasible to go online or look in the yellow pages, where can I get help,” Emergence Health Network Spokeswoman Noreen Jaramillo said.

The app is free and adjusts resources to your location.

“We have applications on our mible phones for everything, games, why not mental health?”