Different ways that holidays affect Mental Health

Fall is here!

In Southern California we have a glossed version of this and not the classic effect. But what we do have, includes this. Every morning when I wake up and open our bedroom door to the great outside, the fall “air” bursts in, hits my amygdala and a slurry of happy neurotransmitters perfuses throughout in a language I don’t have the best words for. I “smell”? or sense? or something, the air, and it says, “Fall is here.” So lovely and wonderful.

The problem in psychiatry, of what these changes do to our biology, come from the body rhythms. Some of us lose the sun to Jack Frost’s government. Some struggle with the time change. And the holidays have their own weighted steel tipped boots that kick up at any of us within kicking distance. Relationships struggle.

Here is a quick list of Fall simple treatment options I just thought you might like:

1.) How to Have A Stress-Reducing Conversation, from the research of Drs. John and Julie Gottman.
2.) UV lamp to help with the seasonal influence on mood and circadian rhythm, with a 10,000-lux intensity with full-spectrum light bulbs.
Also get 10-20 minutes in the morning and in evening before sunset of what sunlight you can.
3.) 10-20minutes of exercise every morning routinely, getting your heart rate up, thereby helping especially with mood, anxiety, and circadian rhythm. Of course you can do more but for many, this is a reasonable bite off of life’s apple. Consider just starting with a video from online that will even do 5min of core, and so forth.

Happy Holidays!

Keep on!