A word about winter blues



Note: This article discusses suicide and depression

Suicide is a delicate and complicated subject. As I’ve walked with people enduring the brutal grief process in the wake of such loss, I’ve had few words to offer. As I’ve reflected on my own relationships with people who’ve taken their lives, I have only questions. The primary one being, “Is there something I could have done?”

This past holiday season, I found myself being more attentive to those who were struggling, as I recalled that suicide rates increase over the holidays.

But recently I came across some data that surprised me. According to recent studies in countries like Canada, the U.S., Austria and the U.K., suicide rates, psychiatric admissions and self-harm actually decrease over the holiday season. The highest suicide rates in all the countries studied occur in late spring and summer. The lowest rates were in late fall and winter.

It seems the winter season doesn’t exacerbate specific mental health issues, in general, with the exception being SAD (seasonal affective disorder), which two to three percent of Canadians will experience in their lifetime.

However, there are struggles that accompany the winter blahs for many. For example, a recent study found that people living in colder places with less sunlight are not only more likely to drink but also more likely to binge- drink and suffer alcohol-related liver disease. In winter, our decline in social interactions can also lead to an increased sense of loneliness and isolation.

During the recent holiday season, I noticed something else that increased—volunteering. It’s typically up 50 percent in December. Charitable giving also rises, with 30 percent of annual donations happening in December. I suspect one reason for this uptake in volunteering and giving is our awareness that it improves our own mental and emotional health. It’s an effective way to combat the winter blahs.

There are other tactics we can utilize as well, such as getting enough sleep and physical exercise, ideally 150 minutes of exercise per week. This reduces stress, anxiety and depression, while boosting self-esteem, confidence, emotional regulation, immunity and our general well-being. Being present and practicing gratitude, instead of comparing our experiences with others or to our own past helps too. This might mean starting new rituals and traditions or reducing our exposure to social media.

I also recommend practicing moderation, resisting the urge to overspend or overindulge. Reaching out to others and getting involved in a community or church, especially if we’re feeling isolated, is another proactive way to address winter blues.

Back to the data. Even though the belief that suicide increases during the holidays is false, this shouldn’t change our benevolent behaviour in future holiday seasons. It’s possible this false belief has helped reduce the risk of depression, isolation and suicide in vulnerable people because it’s changed our attitudes and behaviour towards them. We tend to volunteer more in December because we assume people are struggling more during the holidays. And I think it helps. I celebrate churches and individuals increasing their community engagement and support during the holidays. But I challenge us to extend attentiveness to the most vulnerable into January and beyond.

Suicide rates increase in late spring and early summer, the time many of us are busiest with our action-packed lives, focusing on our gardens, sports, recreational activities, vacation plans, cottages, family events and the like, resulting in us spending less time volunteering and supporting those who are struggling. Is there a correlation?

Similarly, psychiatric admissions temporarily rebound right after the holiday season, the time most of us are getting back to our regular routines, reducing our volunteering and relaxing our attentiveness to those who are struggling.

In order to make a point, I’m positing provocative correlations that I can’t verify. My point is to challenge myself and all of us to use our holiday attentiveness to those on the margins as the bar for the entire year. Let’s remember our Christmas spirit of compassion and sensitivity as a reminder of what our baseline for outreach, service and support should be yearlong. As clichéd as it sounds, I’m encouraging us to act like it’s Christmas all year.



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