Crisis at Christmas as South Africans face holiday blues

It’s unlikely to be a “holly jolly” festive season for many South Africans battling financial stress, grief, loneliness and relationship issues.

The SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) says it’s been fielding between 2,500 and 3,000 calls for help daily throughout the year, with one in four being suicide related, and the festive period is no different.

“2022 has been a difficult year for many people, and reflecting on the past three years, we’ve been through a lot as a country,” said Cassey Chambers, Sadag’s operations director.

“There is so much pressure during the festive season for gifts and decorations, where you are going and what you’re doing for the holidays.

“The idea of getting through December is really hard. Just surviving is a reality for so many South Africans.

“Financial stress is a big contributor to someone’s mental health and wellbeing. Especially over the festive season where the pressure is so much more, it can cause a lot dread, anxiety and stress. 

“It’s important to remember that the Christmas period is not about how big the presents are, about going on a fancy holiday. It’s about connecting with people and acknowledging that we survived another year.”

Chambers said Sadag counsellors have noticed a difference in the nature of calls received during the festive season.

“There’s more anxiety over finances, family or relationship issues, stress, grief or loss and loneliness.

“This time of the year does create more added stressors and contributing factors, and after a very hard year, so many people are feeling burnt out, that they don’t have the resources, support or coping skills to help manage the different stressors.”

“We will be monitoring the figures closely and making sure we have more counsellors on duty to help with the influx.”

Tracy Feinstein, Sadag’s call centre manager, said free telephone counselling was critical throughout the holiday season — “24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Christmas Day and New Years — for anyone who is need of help, crisis intervention and support”.

“Even with load-shedding and the impact on networks and signal, anyone who wants to reach out to a counsellor can SMS (31393), WhatsApp (087 163 2030) or fill in a contact form on the Sadag website (www.sadag.org), and a counsellor will call them back,” said Feinstein.

Megan Hosking, Netcare Akeso’s crisis line manager, said: “This year is the first time since 2019 that SA will be celebrating the festive season without the national state of disaster. It is important for our wellbeing in 2023 that we use time out to really relax, reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones, and refocus for the year ahead.

“The difficulty after such busy and anxious times over the past few years, is that many of us have forgotten the art of resting and may feel guilty or anxious about fully disconnecting from work. Others may feel so exhausted that they leave preparing for the festive season until the last minute, making what should be pleasurable tasks more stressful than they should be,” she said.

Denise Neethling of start-up Paymenow said the joy of holidays and spending time with family were often overshadowed by worry about the costs of travel, gifts and impending back-to-school expenses.

“The period itself carries additional stresses, including trying to meet familial expectations, travel and unfamiliar social environments.”

Research by numerous companies shows that people’s mental health during the festive season is negatively affected by financial concerns.

In the UK, a recent poll found that one in 10 adults felt hopeless about their financial circumstances and more than a third felt anxious. This is worsened by the festive period.

A quarter of the UK population finds Christmas the most challenging period of the year, and 54% are worried about the mental health of someone they know at Christmas.  

“A crucial step to reducing stress over the festive season is gaining control over your finances and employers can step in and help their employees by running financial literacy programmes that will assist them in planning for the holiday seasons —  drawing up budgets, putting savings plans in place and ensuring access to emergency funds,” said Neethling.