{"id":333038,"date":"2025-12-24T09:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T09:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/333038\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T09:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T09:18:12","slug":"how-new-yorkers-can-survive-even-avoid-the-holiday-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/333038\/","title":{"rendered":"How New Yorkers can survive, even avoid, the holiday blues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-block-key=\"lezu1\">The Dyker Heights houses are lit up, the neighborhood dive bars are at peak kitsch \u2014 and the therapists are booked.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"2a0dt\">\u201cI always joke that this is the marathon season for therapists,\u201d said Kim Hertz, a licensed clinical social worker who runs \u200aNew York Therapy Practice. \u201c\u200aHolidays can be really triggering for people, very dysregulating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"fbos0\">For many New Yorkers, the holidays are a time for joy and relaxation. But they can also bring on less fuzzy feelings \u2014 like stress, anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"9kb16\">Hertz and others in the mental health space said it\u2019s important to have coping mechanisms at the ready \u2014 including trying to maintain some aspects of your routine.<\/p>\n<p>What makes the holidays so stressful?<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"5q5av\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/news-room\/news-releases\/americans-more-anxious-about-the-holidays\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">recent national survey<\/a> by the American Psychiatric Association, 1 in 5 respondents said the season hurt their mental health.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"fq4qp\">Respondents cited the stress of affording or finding gifts, the grief of not being able to celebrate with a loved one who\u2019s no longer around and worries about challenging family dynamics.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1vqot\">\u201cThe history of everyone&#8217;s relationships coming together in one big place can be a lot,\u201d said Jason Miki, a therapist with The Jewish Board, a large mental health nonprofit.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"929ke\">At the same time, everyday routines get interrupted, including sleep schedules and self-care rituals, which \u201ccan be very destabilizing,\u201d said Hertz.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"7r2i3\">And while the holidays are supposed to be relaxing, Hertz said many of her clients are under extra pressure to finish end-of-year tasks at work.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"et6d\">People who already have a mental health diagnosis are more likely to get the holiday blues. A <a href=\"https:\/\/nami-northernvirginia.org\/maintaining-mental-health-during-the-holiday-season\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">survey<\/a> conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness found more than 60% of respondents with mental health diagnoses said the holidays made their conditions worse.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"2dico\">Maintaining your mental health during the holidays has been a hot topic of conversation at the Phoenix House Clubhouse, a community center in Harlem that serves people with serious mental illnesses, said Savannah Lampley, the program director there.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"dna65\">\u201cIt\u2019s a time of year where people have a lot of great memories from childhood, but also it spotlights things we might miss,\u201d she said. \u201cThings that are no longer around, things that have changed, family members who have passed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"dqt52\">Eryka Moore, a member of the Phoenix House Clubhouse, said she usually feels isolated during the holidays.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"1luka\">\u201c\u200aI&#8217;ll stay in the house, not Grinchey, but just in my own little funk, being super-duper introverted,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n<p>Maintaining self-care<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"2chbi\">Moore and other members and staff of the Phoenix House Clubhouse came up with a list of coping skills to help them get through the season.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"3i7u6\">Maintaining a routine is at the top of the list \u2014 and it\u2019s also the No. 1 recommendation from Hertz.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"18mv8\">\u201cThis time of year, we are always emphasizing routines and regularity around self-care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Rest and exercise<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"7vhtp\">Maintaining regular sleep and exercise practices while traveling can be a challenge, but it can do wonders for mental health, Hertz said.<\/p>\n<p>Time for yourself<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"e4fj5\">Miki said he also recommends trying to take time for yourself when things feel overwhelming \u2014 even if you\u2019re a parent and can only steal a few minutes alone.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"32dnt\">The clubhouse\u2019s list of coping techniques also includes engaging in meaningful activities like crafts or volunteering, staying connected to supportive people and using grounding practices like breathing exercises or soothing music to manage overwhelming situations.<\/p>\n<p>Avoid triggers<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"3in3a\">Another recommendation from the clubhouse is to identify and avoid situations you know might harm your mental health \u2014 and to reach out for professional or peer support if necessary.<\/p>\n<p data-block-key=\"909fd\">If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can get support by calling 988 or visiting <a href=\"https:\/\/nyc988.cityofnewyork.us\/en\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">NYC 988<\/a> online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dyker Heights houses are lit up, the neighborhood dive bars are at peak kitsch \u2014 and the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[102,1906,6623,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-333038","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}