Holiday Blues For Seniors

They are a time of celebration and joy.

Holiday blues for seniors. Older adults can reduce their risk of experiencing the holiday blues with these tips. Beating the holiday blues for seniors. A few simple things seniors can do to counteract the holiday blues are getting enough sleep taking walks pursuing favorite hobbies and spending time talking on the phone with supportive people.

The holiday blues are often temporary and go away when the season ends. Health conditions or money concerns can make it hard to enjoy the holidays. Be thankful and positive listing things that you re grateful for can help shift your focus from sad or negative thoughts to happier more positive ones according to psychiatrist daniel amen author of feel better fast and make it last.

Tips for avoiding the holiday blues. Here are six ways to do just that. The ags health in aging foundation has tips for coping with the sadness that may come with the holidays.

Longing for holidays past grief over the loss of family and friends and aging related changes to health can intensify through the holiday season and it s crucial to take steps to help older loved ones stop the downward spiral into depression. It s suggested that sad sufferers avoid binge eating or drinking alcohol if feeling down set reasonable expectations and keep within a budget. The holiday season that time from thanksgiving through new year s is supposed to be happy times filled with get togethers between friends neighbors and family.

The holiday blues are also associated with the time change as daylight hours become shorter. For some seniors who have lost relatives are battling chronic health issues or are going through isolation and loneliness the holidays can lead to depression. Often the festivities of the season can bring up memories of loved ones who have died making grief over their absence more acute.

Although this season is typically viewed as the season of joy for some older adults the holidays are a period of intense unhappiness. Make it brighter by thinking ahead and putting plans in place to add more joy to those tricky weeks and prevent a case of the holiday blues. Senior depression is often mistaken for other age related issues.