Post-holiday depression could get you down without help

People often think of dealing with depression during the holidays, but there’s also a lot of stress -after- Christmas too. Jo Callicotte is the community support program coordinator at the Mental Health Center of North Iowa, in Mason City. She says financial stress is one of many things people encounter after the holidays.The Mental Health Center is offering a workshop on how to deal with post-holiday stress. Two clinical psychology interns will be discussing the value of reducing stress through the use of art and music. Callicotte says we all use such outlets to wind down at the end of the day.Callicotte says they hope to provide people with tools to recognize when their stress level is rising. She says we all have small periods of stress that can build into bigger problems if they aren’t addressed.Callicotte says we tend to blame our physical ailments and mental unrest on the holidays. The workshop is open to the public and will be held Thursday at 6:30 P-M at the Renew Center in Mason City.