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Tag: holiday blues

  • Zac Brown Band's New Video Tackles Depression, Using Alcohol To Cope

    Zac Brown Band's New Video Tackles Depression, Using Alcohol To Cope

    The video chronicles the various stages of a man’s life as he struggles to cope with trauma and depression.

    The holidays can be a hard time for many people struggling with depression, and now the Zac Brown Band has released a new video, “Someone I Used to Know,” to help people deal with the “Christmas blues.”

    Alexander Ludwig, who played Cato in The Hunger Games, stars in the video which first shows his character in his college football glory days. The character then goes on to join the army where he suffers the traumas of the battlefield. After coming home, he works as a coal miner, drinking to cope with his troubles. While the main character often appears isolated from others during the various stages of his life, toward’s the video’s end, he comes to the realization that there are people all around him who can offer him support. 

    While Brown told People he doesn’t suffer from holiday depression, he’s well aware that “the holidays are a time when people feel a lot of pressure, and I think it’s good to remind everybody that it’s okay to be human.”

    Brown has seen depression take down people close to him.

    “I’ve lost dear friends to suicide,” he explained. “Whatever was gnawing at them, whatever was eating at them that we didn’t know and couldn’t see, it obviously felt bigger to them than asking for help and having someone else go through it with them. It made me realize, too, that I don’t want to be that person that can’t face themselves and get to the other side so that I can be well for myself and for everybody else around me.”

    Brown also touched on the dissolution of his 12-year marriage.

    “I’m definitely in a spot in my life where I’m trying to face things that are hard so that I can be as well and healthy as possible,” he said.”It’s not the struggles that define you; it’s the fact that you can overcome those struggles that define you. It’s what makes you who you are.”

    At the end of the video, Brown tells the audience, “’Someone I Used to Know’ is a touchpoint to remind people that they don’t have to be alone in what they feel. . . . Pain and depression doesn’t discriminate. This song is me facing that part of myself of where I want to go and not where I’ve been. I would encourage people that when they feel like they have a need or they have a voice that’s telling them to face something, it’s a sign of strength to ask for help and to face the things that are really hard.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Is It Holiday Stress Or Symptoms Of Depression?

    Is It Holiday Stress Or Symptoms Of Depression?

    A recent Forbes article explores the differences between holiday stress, holiday blues and depression and what you can do to contend with them.

    While the December holiday season is typically a joyful time of the year, it can also be a period of considerable stress over gift-giving, travel and visitors, workloads and a host of other related issues.

    Expectations of happiness can also result in the “holiday blues” – feelings of loneliness, loss or isolation that can be exacerbated by the pace and tone of the time period – which can be compounded by the clash between a negative or sad experience, like the loss of a loved one and the pace of the holidays. In some cases, these feelings may be indicative of an actual underlying depression.

    A new essay by Forbes contributor Jeanne Croteau attempts to differentiate between holiday stress, holiday blues and genuine depression that may occur as December winds down into the new year, and what you can do to contend with them.

    As Croteau noted, it’s normal to experience some holiday stress due to the sheer amount of expectations and obligations that happen, often at the same time, during this time of year. The shorter, darker days of the winter months can also have an impact on your mood and can result in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which can take a toll on your mood, energy and ability to sleep. Treatment options for this condition can include therapy, medication or light therapy. 

    What’s important, according to the feature, is to be aware if you are feeling depressed or alienated during the holiday season and to take action when possible. It can be easy, as Croteau noted, to wait for others around you to take notice of your feelings, but in the hectic pace of the holidays, they may miss the often subtle suggestions of depression. As a result, individuals can feel that those whom they consider loved ones don’t care, or consider them a burden.

    Reaching out to friends and family during periods of holiday depression can be crucial. Letting people know what one is experiencing can be an important first step in receiving support that can lead to more substantive assistance. Face-to-face meetings, phone calls and texts can all be lifelines that are needed in the face of oppressive sadness.

    There are also professionals who can provide greater insight or assistance to those in need. Therapists and support groups can be useful options, depending on your location and financial ability; barring those, the article cited the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) and Crisis Text Line as viable options for immediate assistance.

    The Forbes piece concludes with a call to readers to reach out to others – friends and family or otherwise – to reaffirm commitments and care. Calling or spending time with friends and loved ones and asking – and listening – to how they’re doing can be, as Croteau stated, “the biggest gift you can give anyone during the holiday season.”

    View the original article at thefix.com