Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - 49

Dealing with

HOLIDAY DEPRESSION
BY DEBRA GRUSZECKI

T

PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK

he holiday scene is upon
us, and with it comes a
dizzying array of demands
and expectations.
Decorating the house, buying gifts,
baking, hosting parties, visiting relatives, balancing the checkbook, all while
juggling a busy work schedule, can tax
your energy. Emotions can run hot and
cold: warm and fuzzy one minute, disconnected the next.
"The holidays can be a lonely time
of year," explains Sonali Kumari,
MD, psychiatrist, who sees patients
at Community Healthcare System's
Centers for Mental Wellness at

Sonali Kumari, MD,
psychiatrist

Jake Messing, director
of Behavioral Health

St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago
and at an outpatient facility in
Crown Point.
While seasonal doldrums often fade
after the holidays, Kumari says you
may want to consider seeking professional help if feelings of sadness and
low self-worth persist or worsen over
several weeks.
There is a big difference between
the holiday blues and a depressive
disorder or a generalized anxiety
disorder, says Jake Messing, director of Behavioral Health Services for
Community Healthcare System. Left
unchecked, stress or sadness can suppress body symptoms, causing sickness,
disease-even suicide.
Symptoms of depression warranting
therapeutic help, Messing says, include
energy loss, fatigue, change in appetite
and sleep, irritability, poor concentration, mood swings, social withdrawal
and thoughts of suicide.
Absence of light from short gloomy
days can bring on seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the winter months.

Seasonal affective disorder is a subtype
of major depression that comes and goes
based on seasons, and symptoms can
be similar.
"Contrary to popular belief,
December isn't the busiest time for
mental health treatment," Messing says.
"By spring, if a person is still feeling
bad, something is wrong." ■

CALL

We Can Help
The Centers for Mental
Wellness in East Chicago
and Crown Point and
the Community Hospital
Outpatient Centre in St. John
offer counseling and support.
Individual, group and family
psychotherapy is available in
English and Spanish. Call
219-392-7025 or 219-836-7074.

WINTE R 2017

49



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare

Contents
Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - Cover1
Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - Cover2
Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - Contents
Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - 2
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Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - Cover3
Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - Cover4
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