This is probably old news for many of you, but I just heard this old piece of folk wisdom the other day, and then just a few days later read this - from today’s Los Angeles Times:
Suicide: holidays’ darkest myth
Contrary to past reports, depression and suicide rates actually fall during the holidays.
By Susan Brink, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 17, 2007
Helen Bergen, a research scientist at the University of Oxford, along with her colleagues, examined emergency room admission records in England and looked at daily rates of self-induced injury from 1976 to 2003. Conclusion: self-injury rates dropped in the week from 19 to 26 December, and the levels stayed lower through New Year’s Day.
So enjoy your holidays and wassail to your heart’s content! Ho ho ho!