The holidays are here and it’s the happiest time of the year! Except the holiday season is also known for higher rates of depression and suicide. This seems like conflicting information during this time of year, but it’s pretty accurate. However, few people stop to think about what influences these statistics. Here are some ideas that may be contributing to the phenomenon.

Society and media play a huge part in projecting an image that the holidays are supposed to be perfect, joyous and everyone can sit around sipping egg nog with giant smiles. The movies on TV always have a happy ending, everyone always finds the true meaning of the season, and there is always snow outside and a roaring fire in the hearth. These images create unrealistic expectations that few can achieve. For some they create feelings of anger over the commercialization of the season. Others feel overwhelmed because they assume others expect them to meet these unrealistic standards of playing host, and providing elaborate gifts. Gone are the days when the holidays were religious celebrations, when Christmas meant a gift or two and some socks that Aunt Clara made for you, or when Hanukkah was remembering to give thanks. Now, children expect to get everything they want and parents are afraid to disappoint them. The pressure to spend obscene amounts of money during the holiday season continues to grow. The holiday season also means people will be expected to spend more time with their family regardless of if they get along with one another or not.