The Holiday Blues and Compulsive Shopping

During the holiday season, millions of Americans will suffer from varying bouts of depression.  With seasonal depression comes the struggle to control spending in what many would call seasonal "shop-a-holics".  In what has been coined "emotional shopping", individuals who suffer from depression, who may or may not also be addicted to shopping, may struggle to face a post holiday financial distress as early as January 1st.  Understanding why individuals are more depressed during the holidays, the symptoms of emotional or compulsive shopping and the methods for preventing emotional and compulsive shopping from occuring, will work to provide many depressed holiday shoppers with the tools to avoid additional debt during the holiday season. 

Depression, during the holidays, is commonly referred to as the "holiday blues". Symptoms of the holiday blues are often attributed to the stress of holiday events, coordinating time and, for some, a period of loneliness. Because the holiday season is a time of spiritual self awareness, many depressed individuals find their holiday blues are further exacerbated by their own self examination and perceived disappointment in the prior year's achievements.  This self actualization, coupled with the change in climate and temperatures, creates a significantly depressing period for many Americans and the development of "holiday blues".

Marked symptoms of holiday blues may include a range of emotions from sadness, fatigue, hopelessness to helplessness and a desire to isolate oneself indoors.  For an individual suffering with the holiday blues, because the symptoms are not consistent throughout the year, the condition is often misdiagnosed.  For these individuals, finding a unique approach to alleviating mental distress is commonly found in the adrenaline rush of shoppng which seems to cure the seasonal blues, even if on a temporary basis, and improve depression during this holiday period.