La Paz Pearls
The weeks leading up to the holidays are typically a countdown to good food, parties and family gatherings. Hollywood has been painting the perfect holiday picture in our brains for years, but the holidays are not exactly that for many.
Too many are those who experience a spike of loneliness and depression around that time. Living in sunny Baja Sur does have a positive impact on our mood, but not enough to fight the holiday blues. The shame and guilt that surrounds the topic, make it even harder for people to open up and express themselves honestly, and that’s the real shame.
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Depression, loneliness or anxiety around the holidays can happen to anyone and for many reasons. For some, it might be their first holiday without a loved one, after their death, or it could be due to a lack of authentic friendships and a need for a deeper sense of belonging. You can be part of a group gathering, with family or friends, and still feel these daunting negative emotions.
Knowing a lot of people and going to many posadas and potlucks on the surface seems like well-balanced social interactions, yet many still feel very unsatisfied and unfulfilled in their core, feelings that are often masked with copious amounts of alcohol unfortunately.
I remember my first holiday after my divorce. That year I spent Christmas day volunteering in a soup kitchen, in a cold church basement in Toronto, and my heart could not have been warmer.
Even though Christmas itself did not mean much to me then, I was aware that if I wanted to avoid any type of holiday blues, I needed to find more meaningful ways to spend the festive season. That day, alongside other volunteers, I focused on being an elf in the kitchen and with that, I was able to hack my emotional state in a healthy way by genuinely serving with an open heart.
When you engage in an act of service or volunteer work, your brain releases several feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters such as oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. These help lower stress hormones like cortisol and allow you to have a more regulated and stable emotional state, something that can not be achieved when you rely too much on alcohol as a social lubricant. The latter tends to disrupt your body’s ability to regulate your hormones and deplete your neurotransmitters, leading to mood swings and irritability.
Service to others is not the only tool, but is one that can be easily incorporated into your life and the benefits are instant. It will help reduce the feelings of loneliness and isolation, both of which are risk factors for depression.
If you are feeling lonely this season and require professional assistance, I can be reached on Whatsapp at: +1-424-388-8828 or by visiting www.naailahauladin.com
About the author: Naailah's journey began as a crisis counselor in 2013 in Canada. Following her divorce from an abusive relationship, Naailah's nomadic years across continents opened her eyes further to the universal yearning for authentic connection, often hindered by societal taboos and limiting beliefs. This fueled her mission to create accessible and impactful programs that empower individuals with tools to reconnect with themselves. She works one-on-one with individuals dealing with different life and personal issues. ,
