Women are more likely to have depression, and post-holiday depression is not an exception. However, it might all be in women's perception of their emotions.
"Obviously men and women can get depressed," said Larry Kubiak, a psychologist in Florida. "The statistics would say that women tend to be more depressed than men. In general, women are more likely to talk about it. Men are more likely to just kind of keep it to themselves, maybe start drinking more, to internalize it more."
Elaine Rodino, a psychologist in Pennsylvania, said that sometimes women seem to be more aware of their feelings, but that is not the only distinction.
"Women often like to do so many things to make other people happy," Rodino said. "They may feel let down when that's over."
One way for women to avoid post-holiday depression is to make an achievable goal for the New Year, or several, depending on the woman. Personally, I think focusing on a goal can at least sometimes distract from post-holiday depression.
"We all need to be setting goals for ourselves continuously and we don't need a special excuse like the end of the year," Kubiak said.
Losing weight is one of the biggest resolutions, and Kubiak said many people fail in this because they expect too quick of results.
"They expect that in three weeks I'm going to have the physique of Arnold Schwarzenegger or a supermodel or something like that," he said. "Well, that's not going to happen, especially not if you continue eating the way that you did."
Goals also need to be realistic, or they just set a person up for failure.
"Try not to get too grandiose," Kubiak said. "You have to be reasonable, you have to be realistic with those. Don't say you're going to lose 50 pounds in the next month, you're going to die trying to do that. Consult with your physician if weight loss is important and identify what's a reasonable and a safe way to do that."
Make gradual changes as well, and let them sink in before giving up.
"Find one or two positive changes that you can make in your life that are very doable, and once you've done them for...about six weeks, then it becomes a routine," he said.
There are three ways to be successful in making a new year's resolution, which include "having a strong initial commitment to make a change, having coping strategies to deal with problems that will come up and keeping track of your progress," according to an article on http://psychcentral.com.
In an article on the Wall Street Journal, one suggestion to keep your New Year's resolution, which reflects the advice above, is to "take one step at a time," as well as getting help from others and making it public.
There are so many ways to make a resolution more effective, it's just a matter of taking the time to think it over and making a plan for yourself. Either way, hopefully you will be more focused on the positive changes that can occur with a resolution instead of the depression of the fading holidays and of a possible failed resolution. Remember, humans are not perfect, and you can start over again at any time.
Sources:
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/12/28/the-psychology-of-new-years-resolutions/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704234304574625993885272978.html?mod=googlenews_wsj