As many as a quarter of Canadians have a blue Christmas: Study

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As the song goes, “We wish you a merry Christmas!”

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But what if the holidays aren’t so merry for so many?

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A new Angus Reid study by Canadian digital health platform Felix says one in four people in our country — or 26% — say their mental health declines during the holiday season.

Claire, 25, who wished to go only by her first name, can relate.

“The holidays for me combine a lot of things that can make me feel quite blue or depressed,” said the transplanted Torontonian, who also sufferes from seasonal defective disorder, is on anti-depressants and has been seeing the same psychologist since 2019 (the same year she became a Felix patient).

“My schedule tends to be all over the place. I’m not from Toronto. I’m from Nova Scotia, so I have a lot of travel involved, a lot of disruption to my day to day. And also this constant feeling that my heart is in two places. And it’s just this constant tug of war of feeling almost guilty for not being able to be there for everyone that kind of results in this sadness and anxiety.”

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Toronto Dr. Kelly Anderson, Felix’s medical director and a practicing family doctor, says the best way to make it through the holiday blahs is by identifying your holiday “triggers” — like “happy family” Christmas ads or social media posts, financial pressures to buy gifts, or dysfunctional family relationships for example — and letting yourself experience the ups and downs of the emotionally-charged time of year.

“We have this tendency to run through the month of December with our to-do list and checking all the boxes and going to all the events,” said Anderson.

“And taking a minute to check in with yourself whether it’s even just once a day, that’s where mindfulness is such an incredible tool. There’s something to be said for literally sitting down for one minute, on your own, breathing, and just feeling what’s going on in your body. Most of us don’t do that. We’re really on this hamster wheel.”

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Anderson says even making a list of triggers can help, ideally with the help of a family physician, but points out six million Canadians don’t even have access to one.

“Most people experience these type of mental health struggles but it’s so stigmatized they’re hesitant to ever voice those concerns or reach out to a health professional,” she said. “The more we can talk about mental health and normalize these experiences, the more likely it is that Canadians will reach out.”

Claire says symptoms of her holidays-induced depression and anxiety are frequently bursting into tears for no reason and sleeping more than usual.

But after years of dealing with the blues at this time of year, she now knows what to do to keep it manageable and is feeling optimistic for the first time.

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“(I try to) really solidify my routine (and) create a healthy work out schedule that works for my body,” said Claire, who actually works for Felix in compliance.

“Allowing myself to rest when I need it. I really focus on my diet, making sure that I’m eating well and on a good schedule so I can basically nourish my body and feel that my brain might not be at 100% but my body’s good.”

Anderson agreed with those solutions and more.

“It may be saying no to one event that is triggering for you and instead doing something nourishing for yourself,” she said.

“I always suggest people get outside once a day, take a short walk, this could be five minutes. We know exercise is just as effective as the a lot of the mental health medications we use.”

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Both Anderson and Claire also said they weren’t surprised one in four Canadians suffer mentally during the holidays.

“I think the holiday season puts a lot of unusual stressors on all of us,” said Anderson.

“And some of the most foundational building blocks of mental health like sleep, exercise, healthy meals, having a regular rhythm in our day, all of those elements of our lives are turned upside down and most humans struggle with that.”

Added Claire: “I think most of us do experience changes in our mental health around this time. It’s a very stressful time and compounded with the change of the seasons, the past few years of COVID restrictions that add stress to it, I’m actually surprised (the percentage) isn’t a little bit higher.”

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To be referred to a health care professional within 24 hours, go to felixforyou.ca and the first visit is $40 and the followups are free. (In January, the first visit is free.)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FELIX STUDY:

– 46% of Canadians experience at least one mental health issue.

– Only 27% have sought help in the previous two years.

– 39% of Canadians are impacted by depression and anxiety, the most common issues.

– 59% of Canadians say they would go to therapy — or go more often — if it were more affordable with 73% of younger Canadians (18-34 years) saying they would seek therapy if it were more affordable.

– Most Canadians are comfortable discussing depression (66%) and anxiety (70%) in a virtual setting.

– 45% of those coming to Felix are seeking treatment for depression and anxiety are receiving a prescription for the first time.

METHODOLOGY:
Angus Reid conducted the Felix study, in both English and French, online between Oct. 19-21 with 1,509 Canadians with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.