Is That Bullshit? Suicide Spikes During the Holidays

Here's what can really kill you during the holidays.

Welcome to Is That Bullshit? Our segment where Sadie Dingfelder debunks (or just bunks) popular science questions. We’ll also be airing her segment on the podcast today, so if you’re not already listening, subscribe here:

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Between the family drama, the forced cheer and the possibility of Santa getting stuck in the chimney and dying, the holidays sure are stressful. No wonder suicides spike during the holidays—or so people say. Eighty percent of Americans guessed that December was the month with the highest rate of suicides, according to a 2024 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

But the reality is more “It’s a Wonderful Life,” than Gremlins. December has the lowest number of suicides. The holidays are stressful, but people do seem to get joy out of seeing friends and family.

The holidays can kill you, though, and in a variety of ways.

During Christmas, you’re more likely to:

• Get into a motor vehicle accident. (32% more likely on Christmas Day)

• Have a heart attack. (37% more likely on Christmas Eve)

• Die from a heart attack. (5-10% more likely on Christmas—possibly because of understaffed ERs, or because you delayed treatment.)

• Land in an ER due to alcohol poisoning. (50% more likely on Christmas)

• Feed a Mogwai after midnight and have your town destroyed (.37% more likely on Christmas)

But you’re less likely to get robbed! So that’s good.

As for the suicide-holiday myth, no one knows where it comes from. One possibility is “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which plays a lot during the holiday season and has a suicide related plot, though it does end with a firm rejection of despair.

The media are also to blame: In 2023, about 58% of articles on the topic said, incorrectly, that suicides peak during the holidays. (Hey, at least the misinformation is down from 2000, when 77% made that link.)

I did find a decorated popcorn tin kernel of truth in the holiday-suicide myth: While suicides dip in the winter, weirdly, depression peaks. This increase is modest, and it’s mostly seen among people already struggling with a mood disorder. But the lack of sunlight really does get many people down. (Or maybe it was Gremlins 2: the New Batch)

The persisting theory is that “calm winter depression” gives way to the “energetic despair” of spring—when vigor and motivation return, sometimes in dangerous ways.

In any case, if you’re struggling with depression and stress during the holidays, you’re in good company, and help is just three numbers away: dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

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