Joy

December, a different air is breathed in the environment. There is brightness and radiance in the streets. In the houses they shine the ornaments and green and red ribbons that awaken in the families the Christmas spirit. The manger, the tree loaded with colorful dolls and bombs, the boots for the gifts in the fireplace and the images of the good-natured Santa Claus in the windows, all together help to complete the message that it is time to prepare for Christmas. On the radio, in the supermarkets and in the stores carols are heard and the shopping centers begin to congestion of avid buyers who are looking for the perfect gift for their loved ones. Co-workers and friends do not talk about anything other than the family plan to celebrate the event this year.

Everything seems perfect and apparently it is as if an epidemic of joy suddenly attacks the entire population. But the truth is that for a large percentage of people joy never comes with December. On the contrary, all these Christmas symbols cause in these people a deep sadness and nostalgia. The symptoms are very clear. People are apathetic, sad and with great susceptibility. They think Christmas is a children's thing and they want those days to pass in the blink of an eye. Indeed, they prefer to be alone, locked in their house as if it were any other day of any other month.

In the northern hemisphere countries this situation is known as Christmas blues but in Colombia it has been called Christmas syndrome. It can be mild and in this category they would classify all those people who are very bitter to live the season but once it ends they will be the same as before. But the Christmas blues can also lead to severe cases of depression. According to the doctor Jorge Téllez, director of the Colombian Society against Depression and Panic, this syndrome explains why every December there is an increase in suicide figures and therapists' consultations.

This syndrome should not be confused with the seasonal depression that affects northern countries and is more related to the presence of winter. In these latitudes the sun only shines a few hours a day and its rays are less intense, which affects the mood of the most susceptible people. Although it is a very serious depression it is solved with antidepressants and luminotherapy treatments and, when the above does not work, with the arrival of spring.

But the Christmas depression is much less clear. Although it is a very obvious situation, which affects 20 percent of the population, its causes still baffle specialists. For the psychologist Martha de Gómez this syndrome has to do with the vacuum generated by the termination of a cycle. He explains that it is very similar to the temporary depression he gives young people on Fridays when they don't have a rumba program for the weekend. Or also the one that affects adults on Sundays when they have to prepare for one more day of work and are not satisfied with their position or profession. In the expert's opinion, however, this syndrome is almost always accompanied by a sidelined depression. “It works at the unconscious level, says the expert. Affected people have manic behaviors, so they go from one extreme to the other. They put a lot of chalk on things, they start decorating the house, they make big plans and they pray the novena as if that superalegría hid a depression. In these cases it would be healthier to be aware and accept depression for the year that will end. ”

Although Christmas is par excellence a family party, precisely in that nucleus resides another of the factors that can cause the syndrome. To not go any further, just look at the drama that occurs in couples when they have to share the night of December 24 between the family of one and the other. Others are forced to meet the cousins ​​and uncles with whom they almost never have contact just to fulfill a formality, although in reality they would rather be with their soul friends. Among the members of the families, according to Gomez, there are always frictions and conflicts that emerge at this time in the heat of the drinks and when the mind controls are loosened. “Many times meeting with relatives is not so pleasant. The rivalries are evident, feelings are expressed that can hurt another, in short, it can be a total mess ”.

Another aspect that experts have detected as a depression factor at Christmas is the pressure on consumption. And much more at this time, when the country is going through an unprecedented economic crisis, unemployment is 20 percent and people's purchasing power has declined dramatically. It does not generate much joy among people to know that much of the December salary already has an inescapable destiny: Christmas shopping and gifts for family, neighbors and friends. The worst is that it is a vicious circle. "The gas station depresses but not giving gifts at this time also makes people feel bad, because if they do not think they will be rejected by the group," says the psychologist.