Title: Holiday Gatherings With Family: Tips for Holiday Stress and Anxiety
Headings: Home for the Holidays
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Home for the Holidays
Tips for overcoming holiday anxiety and stress.
What Causes Holiday Stress?

Content: If you have negative feelings, don’t try to deny them. Remember that there’s nothing wrong or shameful or unusual about feeling down during the holidays. Depression During the Holidays: Getting Help
For many people battling holiday stress, changing expectations and behavior can make a big difference. But not always. David Dunner, MD, director of the Center for Anxiety and Depression in Mercer Island, Wash., says that sometimes the apparent connections between the holidays and depression may just be coincidental. Continued
“I tend to take a fairly agnostic approach toward the cause of depression because I’m never sure what it really is,” says Dunner. “ Even though it might seem like that the holiday trip to Cleveland to see family is what’s making you feel down, it could have nothing to do with it.” Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a medical condition, a drug side effect, or something else entirely could be the real culprit. Dunner also worries that some people may write off signs of serious depression as mere holiday stress.