By Kate Jonuska

Merry. Jolly. Happy. Bright. These are the kind of holidays we’re implored to have throughout the month of December by everyone from friendly cashiers to Burl Ives singing, “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas.” But the reality for many folks is that the holiday season is not “the best time of the year,” as Mr. Ives croons, but instead a stressful season filled with emotional landmines and pits of despair.

Whether you have a history of depression or it’s your first experience of the “holiday blues,” local experts can explain why depression can crop up around the holidays and how to battle it.

CLICK HERE to read this article, which published in the Dec. 19, 2008 Woodmen Edition and Cheyenne Edition newspapers.