Christmas draws near, and the general atmosphere of cheer is high. Family members are flocking home to gather around warm fires in living rooms all across the nation.

But as Ebenezer Scrooge relearns the true spirit of the holidays with each retelling of the classic Christmas Carol, many are visited by Christmas ghosts of another kind.

Although they appear harmless enough, holiday blues are anything but. Statistics show that more suicides are committed during the holiday season than at any other time of the year.

For many, the holidays are a time of mixed emotions.

It is both wonderful to have time to spend with family, but depressing to think about family members who are not there.

Therapists offer a plethora of solutions, so many, in fact, that it seems near impossible to figure out which work. For me, it is a constant struggle to find a way to deal with these issues.

If I try to suppress memories or emotions, I only succeed building them up inside myself until they eventually burst out and affect everyone around me. On the other hand, it can be all too easy to dwell on depressive thoughts and be crushed under their weight.

In order to deal with the holiday blues I have to strike a compromise. I find it necessary to give some time to simply remembering. As long as I give my past a little bit of undivided attention, it will not come back to haunt me.

I realize that my way of dealing with hardships is by no means the only way, or even the right way.

Chad Wathen, ’06, finds it easier to just go with the flow.

“I don’t really think about it much,” said Wathen, whose parents are divorced. “I spend some time with my mom and I spend some time with my dad. If I get a little depressed, I get a little depressed. It passes just as easily as it comes.”

Jennifer Vanden Hoek, ’06, who lost her father nine years ago, seems to agree with Wathen’s strategy.

“Sometimes I get a little depressed, but usually I just don’t think about it that much,” Vanden Hoek said. “I try to just keep myself busy. I do all sorts of things with my brother and my mom.”

Whatever your method of dealing with the past, the general consensus is that suppressing your emotions can be dangerous. For more information on battling depression, visit www.medicinenet.com/ holiday _depression _and_stress/article.htm.