When the going gets tough at the stores this holiday season, the tough go shopping online. When life gets really tough, there’s online therapy.

“I think it’s invaluable this time of the year,” said John Grohol, spokesman for International Society for Mental Health Online (http://www.ismho.org), which promotes the development of Web technology for the mental health community.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve often bring joy to people, but also evoke feelings of sadness and depression, exacerbated by personal loss, the darker, colder days of winter and a media blitz of idealized holiday images.

Coping with these feelings by expressing them on blogs or by finding online support groups or therapists are among ways people can use the Web to get through the season, experts say.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 17 Nov 2004
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.