The Tinsel-Strewn Nightmare - holiday depression - Brief Article

Workforce, Dec, 2000

Carroll Lachnit

Managing Editor

You can keep "Miracle on 34th Street." My favorite holiday film is "A Christmas Story," Jean Shepherd's memoir of a boyhood Christmas in not-so-lovely Hobman, Indiana (a stand-in for Hammond, where Shepherd grew up).

What's best about the movie, I think, is the absence of sugarplum fairies. On this Christmas, gifts injure and humiliate, the turkey dinner is ruined by a neighbor's ravening pack of hounds, and the department store elves act like demented bouncers instead of Santa's jolly helpers. In the end, though, there's a nice meal and caroling (It's chow mein and singing waiters at a Chinese restaurant, but you get the idea).

In short, it's Christmas the way it is in real life: full of small disappointments, big hassles, and, if you're lucky, a few hours of happiness shared with the people you love.

As this month's "Holiday Headaches" feature package points out, it can be hard to get to the happy part when you're in HR. Christmas in the workplace comes wrapped in distractions, long hours, and all sorts of cultural impendimenta. Many of the company's problems wind up in your lap. Meanwhile, you might be trying to deal with the impact of Christmas in your own life. So perhaps you're experiencing symptoms like these:

* Depressive mood, feelings of pessimism, worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness.

* Sleep disturbances, such as inability to sleep, or sleeping too much.

* Changes in appetite, causing weight loss or gain.

* Agitation and anxiety.

* Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.

Social withdrawal.

* Substance abuse.

Even if you haven't read your company's latest EAP dispatch, you might recognize these as warning signs of the holiday blues. And HR people are far from immune to such problems.

Here, thanks to Gus Stieber, director of business development for VMC Behavioral Healthcare Services, are some tips for coping, even as employees are besieging you with complaints about the playing of "Silent Night" in the office (or the banning of same). Maybe some of this advice could help them lighten up a little, too:

* Keep expectations for the holiday season manageable by not trying to make the holiday "the best ever." Try to set realistic goals for yourself.'

* Let go of the past. Don't be disappointed if your holidays are not like they used to be. Look toward the future.

* Do something for someone else. Try volunteering some time to help others.

* Spend time with people who are supportive and care about you. Make new friends if you are alone during special times. Contact someone you have lost touch with.

* Find time for yourself Don't spend all your time providing activities for your family and friends (or employees).

* Finally, don't be afraid to call on EAP yourself It's one way to see how effective your program really is.