Managing Mourning through Holiday Seasons: Exploring Depression and Its Comprehension
Holiday Grief vs. Clinical Depression: Recognising the Differences
The holiday season, a time traditionally spent with friends and family celebrating cherished traditions, can be a challenging time for those going through grief or dealing with clinical depression. It's essential to understand the differences between the normal grieving process and clinical depression to offer appropriate support and intervention.
Grief, a natural emotional response to loss, involves stages such as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages may occur in a non-linear pattern, and feelings fluctuate, allowing moments of joy or relief intermixed with sadness. Grief usually does not impair a person's ability to function entirely and often lessens in intensity over time as the individual works towards acceptance.
In contrast, clinical depression (Major Depressive Disorder) is a medical condition marked by persistent symptoms lasting at least two weeks. These symptoms include a markedly depressed mood, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, significant changes in sleep and appetite, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, difficulty concentrating, and sometimes suicidal thoughts. These symptoms cause significant impairment in daily life, such as difficulty maintaining relationships or performing basic tasks.
During the holiday season, grief-related sadness may be intensified by memories and social expectations, but typically, it remains tied to the loss and comes with periods of relief or positive feelings. Depression, on the other hand, tends to be more pervasive, less reactive to positive events, and involves a continuous low mood and functional impairment unrelated directly to the loss.
Mourners may be occasionally cheered by happy memories of loved ones, while those with depression experience unrelenting negative feelings and self-talk. Both mourners and those with depression may feel sad, isolated, have trouble sleeping, and lose their appetite. However, the holiday obligations such as buying gifts, traveling, and spending time with difficult or unsupportive relatives can further strain the bereaved.
It's crucial to remember that grief eventually subsides, but depression is a physical illness that doesn't relent and can't be reasoned or willed away. The absence of loved ones during the holidays can be a sharp contrast to the suffering of those going through grief, divorce, or caring for the terminally ill.
In summary, normal grief is natural, variable in intensity, and does not severely disrupt daily functioning, whereas clinical depression is characterized by persistent, pervasive symptoms that interfere significantly with everyday life and require professional treatment. Recognizing these differences, especially during the holidays when feelings of loneliness and sadness can be heightened, is crucial for ensuring appropriate support and intervention.
[1] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
[3] National Institute of Mental Health. (2016). Depression. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml
[4] Worden, J. W. (2009). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Although holiday grief may be intensified by memories and social expectations, it usually doesn't require professional treatment and allows for moments of relief or positive feelings. However, treatment-resistant depression, a type of Major Depressive Disorder, can persist despite multiple treatment attempts and significantly impair a person's health-and-wellness and mental-health, interfering with one's ability to function, maintain relationships, and perform basic tasks. Science continues to advance in understanding and addressing the complexities of mental health conditions like treatment-resistant depression.
