Why do people get depressed during the holidays?

The holidays are supposed to be a time when we relive old memories and make new ones with our family and friends. It's supposed to be the most joyous time of the year. For some, it is. For many, however, it's not.

Rakesh Jain, MD, director of psychiatric drug research at the R/D Clinical Research Center in Lake Jackson, Texas says that "holidays blues are a pretty common problem despite the fact that as a society, we see the holidays as a joyous time."

She went onto say, "Many people feel depressed, which can be due to the increased stress that comes with the need to shop and the decreased time to exercise which gets put on the back burner during the holidays."

People may also feel depressed because they experience a common condition called "winter blues." Also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), this depression typically affects around 10 million Americans. The further north someone lives, the greater chance they'll experience it.

SAD occurs because of the lack of natural sunlight during the winter. Many people wake up before the sun rises and don't leave the office until the sun sets. They only light they experience are compact-fluorescent lights (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) during the day. And, no, despite their brightness, these lights are not the equivalent to natural sunlight.

If you are feeling depressed this holiday season, consider Fairwinds Treatment Center. Dr. M.K. (Khal) El-Yousef, specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of depression by using a Dual Diagnosis approach. In using this tactic, Dr. El-Yousef and his staff of full-time psychiatrists, nursing professionals and licensed therapists work to first diagnosis the underlying reason behind a person's depression. Upon understanding the cause, they can then treat the condition and its symptoms.