Health
Combat the Christmas blues with these holiday health and wellness tips
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The Christmas season is supposed to be a joyous time of year — but not everyone can or will have the holiday spirit.
Illnesses, loss of family members or friends, financial stress, loneliness or other worries can become the Grinch that steals Christmas joy for many.
The “Christmas blues” or “holiday blues” are described as temporary feelings of anxiety and depression that occur around the holidays, due to extra stress, unrealistic expectations or sentimental memories associated with the season, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
BUDGET-FRIENDLY GIFT IDEAS THAT WON’T CAUSE YOU FINANCIAL STRESS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
During this time of year, some people might be at risk for feelings of sadness, fatigue, tension and a sense of loss, NAMI notes on its website.
Seasonal factors may affect people’s mood quite seriously. Decreased sunlight, an increase in alcohol consumption at holiday parties, changes in diet, the over-commercialization of the season or not being able to see family or friends may all be factors.
It’s not uncommon to experience feelings of sadness during the holidays. There are several things you can do to help combat those negative feelings. (iStock)
It is important to note that these moods are temporary, experts say.
“A mood such as a ‘blue mood’ is a passing phenomenon,” Dr. Mark Sirkin, a clinical psychologist in New York, told Fox News Digital.
‘HOME ALONE’ HOUSE AND OTHER POPULAR CHRISTMAS MOVIE LOCATIONS TO VISIT IN AMERICA
Sirkin, an associate dean of health professions at Long Island University, said there are things people can do to turn that “down” feeling around.
- Ways to combat the Christmas blues
- Ways to treat yourself during the holidays
- Ways to budget for the holidays
- What to know about feelings of sadness versus mental illness
1. Ways to combat the Christmas blues
“Distract yourself, try to focus on happier thoughts and images, do something enjoyable, preferably with others. These are all good ways to ‘treat’ a blue mood,” Sirkin said.
With social media extremely prevalent today, many people fall into a trap of comparison. This is especially true during the holidays, when people post pictures of their Christmas festivities.
“For every smile or laugh in a TikTok picture, there is a lot of reality that you don’t see,” said Sirkin.
Scrolling on social media can be detrimental to your mental health. Save your own piece by trying to limit screen time. Instead, fill your days with activities that you enjoy. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Research shows that, for some people, constantly looking at the pleasures of others might actually make them feel bad, said Sirkin.
“Stop! Change the channel!” advised Sirkin. “Call a friend, and have a real conversation. Everyone has ups and downs — you, your friends, even those annoyingly happy people on social media.”
AVOID SCAMMERS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON BY FOLLOWING THESE SIMPLE TIPS
He added, “Don’t focus on what you think you don’t have. Focus on what’s good.”
“Everyone has ups and downs — you, your friends, even those annoyingly happy people on social media.”
Doing something for others during the holiday season can brighten your mood, the psychologist said.
One simple way to do this is by donating to a local toy or clothes drive. Donating an item to help someone in need can fill you with pride and joy during the holidays.
Simply dropping off a product at a toy drive can increase your holiday spirit by doing something for another. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Additionally, there are many volunteer opportunities during the holiday season, like a food drive. Look around in your area for volunteer events that you can take part in to help those who are less fortunate.
2. Ways to treat yourself during the holidays
While the holiday season is a time for giving, it is also important to treat yourself.
Make sure you are giving yourself grace and treating yourself to activities that you enjoy, say experts.
COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS WITH THESE FESTIVE HOLIDAY FLICKS
Among Sirkin’s suggestions are to reward yourself with a nice dinner or some other treat.
“I put on the fire, watch a movie and pour a nice glass of wine to give myself a boost.”
Also, challenge yourself and say, “Why shouldn’t I be happy?” and “I deserve to be happy.”
While the holiday season is a time for giving, don’t forget to focus on your own happiness and well-being, too. (iStock)
Margaret Palermo of Huntington, New York, agreed with the notion of treating yourself during the holidays.
“I put on the fire, watch a movie and pour a nice glass of wine to give myself a boost during the holidays,” she told Fox News Digital.
With the fire ablaze and wine in hand, pop on a festive flick.
MENTAL HEALTH IMPROVES WITH 20 SECONDS OF DAILY AFFIRMATIONS, STUDY FINDS: ‘SELF-CARE STRATEGY’
If you need a laugh, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Elf” or “Christmas with the Kranks” are all good options.
If you are in the mood for a classic, “The Polar Express,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” or “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” are some ideas.
Choose a festive flick to watch during Christmas to help you get into the spirit of the season. (iStock)
Another suggestion from Sirkin is to interact with others.
“They are my family — friends that are family — and I enjoy being around them. They help me feel a bit happier.”
“Resist the urge to isolate yourself or crawl into a corner. Interacting with others, especially people with whom you have deep relationships, such as family, is a great way to get out of your funk,” he said.
Louise M. of Long Island, New York, said she makes plans with friends to celebrate during the holidays, now that she does not have living family members.
‘BED ROTTING’ IS SELF-CARE, SOME INSIST, BUT MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT SHARES WARNINGS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA TREND
While it does not replace her memories of Christmases past with her family, she can still create nice seasonal memories with friends, she said.
“They are my family — friends that are family — and I enjoy being around them. They help me feel a bit happier.”
Being surrounded by others during the holidays can help fill you up with love and happiness. (iStock)
Inviting friends over for a night full of holiday dishes, Christmas cocktails and maybe even a Secret Santa gift swap can help combat the holiday blues.
Exercise is another way to help battle the holiday blues, according to health experts.
One woman enjoys walking around her neighborhood and looking at the holiday decorations and lights when she feels the holiday stress taking over.
Taking a brisk walk or riding a stationary bike indoors can get that blood and “feel-good” hormones pumping.
THRIVING WITH ANXIETY: EXPERT TIPS ON EMBRACING THE MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION
This can help improve moods, physical therapists told Fox News Digital.
A woman in Annapolis, Maryland, told Fox News Digital she enjoys walking around her neighborhood and looking at the festive decorations and lights when she feels the holiday stress taking over.
Many houses go above and beyond with their holiday decorations each and every year. (iStock)
If it is too cold or dark outside for a walk, she said she hops in the car, puts on some holiday music and looks at holiday lights throughout her town.
Many houses throughout the country have extravagant displays that can be fun to check out with hot chocolate in hand.
Some houses take their Christmas decorations very seriously, with lights flickering to the beat of holiday music passersby can play on their radio. These neighborhood light shows can help get you into the holiday spirit.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Practicing meditation or mindfulness can also help, according to Sirkin.
“This is an increasingly popular and verified method of getting out of a bad mood,” Sirkin said.
Listening to a festive playlist as you look at holiday decorations can help fill you with Christmas joy. (iStock)
“Just sit: You can count your breaths, count to 10 over and over, or any other way you’d like to focus your mind. There are some good apps out there you can put on your phone,” he said.
“People should understand the difference between feeling sad and dealing with a mental illness.”
YouTube is another great resource to turn to if you need guided meditation.
3. Ways to budget for the holidays
Some health professionals said that people can avoid stress caused by excessive holiday gift spending by setting a budget and sticking to it.
Christmas can put people into loads of credit card debt. A thoughtful gift does not mean an expensive one. Do not spend outside your means.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
The weeks or months you will endure in debt will add lots of stress to your life beyond the Christmas season.
Write down everyone you need to buy for, and create a budget for each person. Once you find something you want to buy, do not purchase it right away. Do research first, and see if there is a sale going on at another store to make sure you are getting the best deal possible on your item.
Christmas shopping can be a source of stress. Create an organized budget for all those you’re shopping for, and conduct thorough research to ensure you’re getting the best price for the items you want to buy. (iStock)
When it comes to Christmas shopping, try to start as early as possible. This will give you the optimal time to seek out the deals. You won’t have to worry about the huge crowds seeking last-minute gifts as Christmas nears.
Once Christmas is over, the last thing on your mind is next year’s festivities. That said, the earlier you start putting aside money for the holidays, the less financial stress you’ll be hit with during the season.
One method to consider is putting a very small sum of money aside for Christmas throughout the year. Whatever amount you have saved in December will be your budget for Christmas.
4. What to know about feelings of sadness versus mental illness
People should understand the difference between feeling sad and dealing with a mental illness, Sirkin noted.
“If you think you might have a mental illness — if you have regular thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself, if you think you may harm yourself or others, if you can’t function at home or work — these are all signs of serious mental illness,” he said.
“You should seek out professional help, beginning with your physician or trained mental health professional,” he added.
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
Study finds link between obesity and vascular dementia
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss an increase in colon cancer in people under 50 despite an overall lowering cancer deaths and a new study linking obesity to vascular dementia.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge.
That’s according to new research from the University of California San Diego, which found that a specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was “strongly linked” to future dementia risk.
The researchers analyzed blood samples from 2,766 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study in the late 1990s, according to the study’s press release.
KEY FITNESS MEASURE IS STRONG PREDICTOR OF LONGEVITY AFTER CERTAIN AGE, STUDY FINDS
The women ranged from 65 to 79 years of age and showed no signs of cognitive decline at the start of the study.
After tracking the participants for up to 25 years, the researchers concluded that the biomarker phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) was “strongly associated” with future mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge. (iStock)
Women who had higher levels of p-tau217 at the beginning of the study were “much more likely” to develop the disease. The findings were published today in JAMA Network Open.
“The key takeaway is that our study suggests it may be possible to detect risk of dementia two decades in advance using a simple blood test in older women,” first author Aladdin H. Shadyab, a UC San Diego associate professor of public health and medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“These biomarkers may help us identify who is at greatest risk and develop strategies to delay or prevent dementia.”
“Our findings show that the blood biomarker p-tau217 could help identify individuals at higher risk for dementia long before symptoms begin,” he added.
This long lead time could open the door to earlier prevention strategies and more targeted monitoring, rather than waiting until memory problems are already affecting daily life, according to Shadyab.
A specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was “strongly linked” to future dementia risk. (iStock)
“As the research advances, these biomarkers may help us identify who is at greatest risk and develop strategies to delay or prevent dementia,” he said.
This risk relationship wasn’t the same across the board, however. Women over 70 with higher p-tau217 levels had “poorer cognitive outcomes” compared to those under 70, as did those with the APOE ε4 gene, which is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study also found that p-tau217 was a stronger predictor of dementia in women who were randomly assigned to receive estrogen and progestin hormone therapy compared to those who received a placebo.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217 are especially promising because they are far less invasive and potentially more accessible than brain imaging or spinal fluid tests,” said senior author Linda K. McEvoy, senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and professor emeritus at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, in the release.
“Blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217 are especially promising because they are far less invasive and potentially more accessible than brain imaging or spinal fluid tests,” a researcher said. (iStock)
“This is important for accelerating research into the factors that affect the risk of dementia and for evaluating strategies that may reduce risk.”
Blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease are still being studied and are not recommended for routine screening in people without symptoms, Shadyab noted.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
More research is needed before this approach can be considered for clinical use prior to cognitive symptoms.
Future studies should investigate how other factors — like genetics, hormone therapy and age-related medical conditions — might interact with plasma p-tau217, the researchers added.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
“The study examined only older women, so the findings may not necessarily apply to men or younger populations,” Shadyab noted. “We also examined overall dementia outcomes rather than specific subtypes such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
For women over 60, muscle strength plays a critical role in longevity, a new study confirms.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo, New York, followed more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 99, finding that those with greater muscle strength had a significantly lower risk of death over an eight-year period.
The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
EXERCISE AFFECTS THE HEART IN A HIDDEN, POWERFUL WAY BY REWIRING NERVES, STUDY FINDS
Muscle function was measured using grip strength and how quickly participants could complete five unassisted sit-to-stand chair raises.
These are two tests commonly used in clinical settings to evaluate muscle function in older adults, the researchers noted.
A recent study shows that stronger muscle strength in women over 60 is linked to a lower risk of death over eight years. (iStock)
“In a community cohort of ambulatory older women, muscular strength was associated with significantly lower mortality rates, even when we accounted for usual physical activity and sedentary time measured using a wearable monitor, gait speed and blood C-reactive protein levels,” study lead author Michael LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo, told Fox News Digital.
“Movement is the key — just move more and sit less.”
Many earlier studies did not include those objective measurements, making it difficult to determine whether muscle strength itself was linked to longevity, according to LaMonte. “Our study was able to better isolate the association between strength and death in later life,” he added.
Even for women who don’t get the recommended amount of aerobic physical activity, which is at least 150 minutes per week, muscle strength remained important for longevity, the researchers found.
Women with greater muscle strength were more likely to live longer, even if they did not meet the recommended amount of aerobic exercise. (iStock)
“The findings of lower mortality in those who had higher strength but were not meeting current national guidelines on aerobic activity were somewhat intriguing,” LaMonte said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
Federal guidelines recommend strengthening activities one to two days per week, targeting major muscle groups.
Resistance training does not have to require a gym membership, LaMonte noted. These exercises can be performed using free weights, resistance bands, bodyweight movements or even household items, such as soup cans.
Experts recommend working major muscle groups one or two days a week using weights, bands or bodyweight exercises. (iStock)
“Movement is the key — just move more and sit less,” he said. “When we can no longer get out of the chair and move around, we are in trouble.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
LaMonte acknowledged several limitations of the study. The researchers assessed muscle strength in older age but did not explore how earlier levels in adulthood might influence long-term health outcomes.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We were not able to understand how strength and mortality relate in younger ages,” he said, noting that future research should explore whether building strength earlier could have an even greater impact on longevity.
‘It’s Not a Penalty’: Bednar Rips Officials For MacKinnon Ejection | Colorado Hockey Now
Study: Late-Night Gamers in Connecticut Are Dragging Down Productivity
New Castle County Council finally votes on data center regulations
Collier County’s most expensive home sold in February sold for $25M
Daily Briefing: All eyes on Rome, Georgia
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after $1.2B deal scrapped
Von der Leyen ‘acting outside of competence,’ Araud tells Euronews
Wheelchair curler Steve Emt’s path from drunk driver to three-time Paralympian
Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City
Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Pennsylvania6 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Detroit, MI5 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year
-
Miami, FL7 days agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Sports6 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Virginia7 days agoGiants will hold 2026 training camp in West Virginia
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on the Real Locations in These Magical and Mysterious Novels