The Holidays and mental health

The Holidays and mental health

Can the holiday season affect your mental health?

BY LAURA BRADLEY

With the Upcoming holiday season, thinking about family gatherings may fill you with anticipation and excitement or fill you with anxiety, fear, and dread Depending on your family dynamics, you may or may not look forward to holiday gatherings. Thinking about shopping, travel, gift expenses, and a full calendar of invites and events, can put an enormous amount of pressure on you both mentally and emotionally. Loneliness and grief can make you feel very isolated and all alone. All of these in their own unique way, can affect our mental health, sometimes without us even realizing it

The holidays at our house used to be something that I looked forward to every year because they brought me so much joy Unfortunately, there are now times when I find myself dreading them due to changing family dynamics and loss of loved ones. For some reason, it seems as if the pain is magnified and raw during the holiday season. When you look around and see loved ones are missing, it is hard to keep yourself from getting into a negative headspace.

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So how do we cope with all of these and not allow them to ruin our holiday season or put us in a headspace that is not positive for our mental health? Speaking from experience of all of these, it’s not easy, but I am determined to do my very best to stay positive and be present with those who are there and who bring love and positivity into my life

Here are a few things we can all practice, to help us enjoy and anticipate this holiday season instead of dreading and fearing it:

-Surround yourself with other people who make you feel happy and bring positivity to your life. If someone brings drama and negativity to your life, don’t spend time with them. Love them from afar. Not everyone has to be invited to your tea party…

-It’s okay to say no. Saying no gives you back your power. If you do not want to attend an event or gathering, simply say no. It’s not worth attending and being miserable or making everyone else around you miserable.

-You don’t have to attend everything you’re invited to. If your calendar is already full... Simply decline the invitation.

-With blended or large families, the holidays can be extremely overwhelming and tiresome. Trying to make it to every family event can bog us down to the point it ruins the holidays for us. Try choosing a few manageable gatherings you will attend and place the remaining ones on a yearly rotating schedule.

-When you are feeling overwhelmed at a gathering or event, step outside and take a break. If you meditate or practice mindfulness, find a quiet spot (go to your car and sit if you must) and gather your thoughts, practice breathing, and relax.

-If you are struggling with the grief of a loved one, find a way to honor and celebrate them. Buy an ornament in memory of them, share funny stories and memories of them.

-When you feel alone, spend time with and focus on who is there. Even if it’s just a couple people, be thankful for those two people and focus on the time you are sharing together. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people. -Financial Stress… let’s be real for a minute… buying expensive gifts when we cannot afford them, may make us “look” good but they don’t always make us “feel” good. The effects of spending money we do not have, last for a very long time. Make a decision to create an affordable budget and stick to it. Don’t allow the glitz and glamour of expensive gifts to put you under financial stress that will last long of Christmas is over.

The holidays can be tough, especially when we have created a fantasy of what we think they should look like. Let’s learn to let go of the fantasy we have created and when things go a different way than what we had planned, let’s put the above practices and tips in place.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!