Bells are ringing. Snow is glistening. But you’re bummed out.
You could be suffering from a case of the holiday blues, which experts say is not uncommon.
A strained relationship with family, for example, can make this time of year pretty lonely. The holidays are expensive, and financial woes can cause major stress. Anxiety about holiday anything can fuel depression and worsen existing mental health concerns.
“A lot of people at certain years can find the holidays to be more challenging than they have experienced in past years,” said Shilagh Mirgain, a psychologist at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin. “It’s important to recognize the common humanity that others, too, are struggling.
"You’re not alone.”
Here’s what experts say you can do to make your holiday season a little more bearable, if not cheery.
Spending an extended amount of time with family is hard to avoid around the holidays, Mirgain said, but there are ways to make it a little easier.
“Certainly this year, I think with the recent election, there’s a lot of divisiveness and discord, and you’re probably having to interact with family members that have really opposing beliefs,” she said. “That can bring up strong emotions.”
Think about the boundaries you want to set: What kind of contact do you want to have with your family and how long are you prepared to be around them?
It’s also important to give yourself permission to exit the event — and have some strategies in place, she said. For example, if you need some space, go on a walk or run some errands.
And if stressful conversations come up, have some language ready to go to draw your boundaries quickly and firmly.
“You could say, ‘Gosh, thanks for asking, but I don’t talk politics over the holidays,’” Mirgain suggested.
The holidays can be difficult for people who are grieving or don’t have anyone nearby with whom to celebrate.
“Loneliness and isolation can feel exacerbated during the holiday season when you look around and it seems like everyone’s getting together and you don’t have plans, or you’re not looking forward to your plans,” Mirgain said.
Find ways to connect with people if that’s something you’re craving, like scheduling calls with people across the country or volunteering in your community.
“There’s so much opportunity to give back during this time, and I think generosity is one of the best things we can do for our own well-being,” she said.
And if you’re grieving the death of someone close to you, the holidays can be the perfect time to reflect on that person's legacy, said Dr. Ellen Lee, a geriatric psychiatrist at UC San Diego Health.
"Try to honor that person by visiting their grave site or doing something they really loved to do, and then find people to share those memories with,” Lee said. She also advises people not to tamp down feelings but let yourself grieve.
Gifts, dinners, decorations — it’s all a lot to keep track of around this time of year, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Those extra expenses and get-togethers can put more stress on your mental health.
For milder symptoms of depression, anxiety or mood issues, lean on tried-and-true methods of self-care, experts said, such as spending time doing something you love or watching a movie.
But it's important to reach out for help if you start to feel mounting financial anxiety or intensifying symptoms that impair your ability to function. Early intervention can keep them from intensifying, Mirgain said, adding that if you have suicidal thoughts, reach out to your provider. You can also call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org.
Remember, your holidays don’t have to be a Hallmark movie. Give yourself permission to do it differently this year, Lee said.
“We have so many goals, so many targets,” she said. “Getting all the gifts, decorating the house perfectly … sometimes it’s helpful to sort of focus on the most important part of it.”
That can look different depending on who you are: The most important part may be spending time with people you don’t get to see often, or having a nice meal with your favorite foods.
Lee emphasized that it is fine to have a low-key celebration.
“I ask people, ‘What’s the best part of the holiday?’" she said, "It’s not usually about the decorations or all these extra things that we all spend a lot of time worrying about.”
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A person views lights in front of the New York skyline at The Shops at Columbus Circle, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A Filipina who was on death row in Indonesia and was nearly executed by firing squad in 2015 will return home this week under an arrangement between the countries, officials said Monday.
Mary Jane Veloso, who spent almost 15 years in an Indonesian prison for drug trafficking, won a last-minute reprieve that led to her testimony exposing how a criminal syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice and drug courier.
Veloso was moved late Sunday to a a female prison in Indonesia’s capital, from where she will be flown back to the Philippines early Wednesday, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, an official at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, told a news conference.
Her repatriation was made possible by a “practical arrangement” signed between the two countries on Dec. 6, after a decade of pleading from Manila.
In a tearful interview with The Associated Press last week, Veloso described her return home as being “like a miracle when I have lost all hope.”
“For almost 15 years I was separated from my children and parents, and I could not see my children grow up,” she said. “I wish to be given an opportunity to take care of my children and to be close to my parents."
Veloso, who will turn 40 next month, was arrested in 2010 at an airport in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, where officials discovered about 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin hidden in her luggage. The single mother of two sons was convicted and sentenced to death.
Her case caused a public outcry in the Philippines. She traveled to Indonesia in 2010, where her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, reportedly told her a job as a domestic worker awaited her. Sergio also allegedly provided the suitcase where the drugs were found.
In 2015, Indonesia moved Veloso to an island prison where she and eight other drug convicts were scheduled to be executed by firing squad despite objections from their home countries Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana and Nigeria.
Indonesia executed the eight but Veloso was granted a stay of execution because Sergio was arrested in the Philippines just two days before.
In the Philippines, Veloso's two sons told GMA News network they're are excited to be reunited with their mother after the long wait. They were 1 and 6 years old when she was arrested in 2010.
“I will hug her tight. I really missed my Mama,” said Mark Darren Candelaria, Veloso’s youngest son, told GMA News network. “Hopefully before Christmas my Mama can be freed and she can go home so our Christmas and New Year will be happy.”
The family is appealing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant Veloso executive clemency.
Indonesia’s last executions of an Indonesia and three foreigners were carried out in July 2016.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug smuggling hub despite having some of the strictest drug laws in the world, in part because international drug syndicates target its young population.
About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections’ data showed last month.
Five Australians who spent almost 20 years in Indonesian prisons for heroin trafficking returned to Australia on Sunday under a deal struck between the Indonesian and Australian governments.
Indonesia recently agreed in principle to return a French man and a British woman, both on death row, to their home countries.
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalist Dita Alangkara contributed to this report.
Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso gestures to the media as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso gestures as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso waves to the media as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso gestures to the media as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
