What advice would you give to someone who may be feeling depressed or lonely during the Christmas-New Year period?

find a good friend and hang out. Or go out to a singles bar and pick someone up and take them home and get laid. Always cheered me up.

switch off internet,dont follow news.find someone like you and share private time.at home,in town,in nature....

That’s right, @Aly. Bars have opened and one can meet interesting people or potential friends and partners, or at least just drink loneliness and melancholy away.

I do not know the exact situation on each person, however how about staying with family members such as parents? They are probably waiting for you and wishing for your health. Or how about focusing on your house work such as cooking. Making yearly Christmas and New-year's meal more attracting or adding one more dish on your dinner. Preparing a meal is time-consuming work, thus you can forget your negative feeling during that time.

find things that you enjoy doing, ideally stuff that you can enjoy solo. the holidays can be a toxic time of the year and for some, it brings back painful memories. Start with spending time with people you enjoy being with and tune off from current events (news and social media). get lost in the things you love is what I will say.

Buy more stuff.

Discover the true meaning of Christmas : go to a church near you that will have a Christmas vigil. You'll find that people are welcoming to visitors and will share the joy of the season.

Go skiing or snowboarding. You'll find buddies the moment you get on the lift.

 go out to a singles bar and pick someone up and take them home and get laid. 

Unless you're Christian, Christmas here is a couples' day (look at all the love hotels with Christmas theme). Since the kids have all gone to Tokyo, we've learned to ignore Christmas and focus on New Years - watch Kohaku, visit the shrine, and be done with it.

Hang out with a good friend or take the day to work on a hobby. You can also just have a Lazy Day and UberEats something while binge-watching Netflix or whatever. You can also, depending on where you are, go out and volunteer at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter or orphanage.

Go to Thailand!

If someone is feeling depressed and lonely good chance their ARE no friends or family around.

Furthermore, if someone is feeling depressed and lonely at Christmas time then they’re probably feeling this way all the time.

Like others have recommended, you got 3 choices. Make a new friend, activity, or drink. So, go bar hopping until you find the one you like and do all three at the same time. If you don’t drink, then start, self medicating is much more fun than the doctors pills.

invalid CSRF

Advice? To someone depressed or lonely during Christmas holiday period?

Preparation:

obtain a foot stool. 2. a large five inch high salad bowl. 3. an abrasive Salux nylon towel made in Japan. 4. six ice cube trays. 5. a cotton string bag with 1/2 inch squares. 6. a blow-dry blower.

Procedure:

On getting up in the morning and before going to bed: 1. rub the whole body with a dry, abrasive Salux towel made in Japan. 2. place the salad on the footstool in the bathtub under the cold tap. 3. empty the six trays of ice cubes in the cotton string bag to place in the salad bowl. 4. place the bag of ice cubes under the cold tap. 5. turn on the cold tap and, kneeling before the footstool, shake the ice cube bag to melt the ice cubes. 7. when they melt to half size, place the bag aside and, throw the salad bowl of freezing water on the head and body and, you will feel a thrill of cold pleasure described as a cold non-sexual orgasm. 8. repeat step seven. 9. repeat step seven. 10. repeat step seven. 11. you will have been lifted out of depression and feelings of loneliness and will burst into joyful song. 12. before bedtime, repeat above procedure and, you will sleep like a baby dreaming happy dreams. 13. repeat yesterday's procedure for a few days. 14. you are now cured of depression and feelings of loneless not only during the Christmas holidays but, for life.

Obtain a footstool...

Obtain a footstool 12" high.

Not much more to say other than;

TELL is dedicated to providing effective support and counseling services to Japan’s international community and its increasing mental health needs.

https://telljp.com/

If you can, stay away from teh booze, it will make you feel worse.

Stop reading tabloids and stop watching TV...

Suck it up.

You're alive.

Dare to be defiantly ridiculous.

A little perspective,

and possibilities are endless...

Get out and walk. Pass through a train station and offer to help an old lady with her bags. Stop in at a few coffee shops, have a cup and absorb the atmosphere.

Walking and being alone with your thoughts is the last thing you should be doing when feeling depressed. It's your thoughts that are depressing you. Sitting alone in a coffee shop while all around you happy people are chatting with friends... that would just heighten the sense of isolation.

Get involved in something (trip to Thailand, skiing, volunteering) that will take you away from thoughts of yourself and involve you with others. If you can't do that, watch entertaining (non-Christmassy movies) and drink yourself to sleep. It's true that alcohol will make depression worse, but that's in the long term. If you're just trying to get through a day or two it can be quite effective.

Do something for someone else,beside feeling sorry for yourself

Don't watch the news or engage in online SNS unless it's with friends and family -- certainly don't look at the state of politics and/or the economy. Next, I'd say find something you love doing and try to do it, and if you can find a friend in the same boat, go out and create some new memories and kinds of fun. All that being said, keep in mind that it really is just another day, ultimately, and will pass like the rest of them (likewise for New Year's).

Yrral: "Do something for someone else,beside feeling sorry for yourself"

Yeah, that caring, wonderful attitude is just the thing to get someone who is unfortunate enough to have no one out of their funk, my friend. Try being a little less selfish yourself and put yourself in their shoes a little.