FROM THE
with Dr. O
Dr. Ondra Krouse Dismukes
GETTING READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Are you ready for the holidays?
I mean, really ready? Confession: For the past 15 years, I have come to dread the Holidays. Aside from the increased commercialization of the holidays - from the pumpkin lattes hitting our favorite cafes to the bottle-poppin’ year-end countdown, neither of which represent anything really holy (although, in my head I’m rebutting Well, champagne is like wine, and pumpkins are God’s fruit...You get the idea, right?) - the holidays also remind me of loss. Good old November - at the heels of Halloween, which ends a month-long celebration of breast cancer awareness - reminds me of my mom, who succumbed to breast cancer the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It also reminds me of my dad, who transitioned on the Saturday after Thanksgiving just six years earlier than my mom. Fortunately, I begin the month of November celebrating my mommyversary, the birth of my first-born child, my son; and I begin the month of December celebrating the birth of my daughter. My birthday falls next in line, just four days before Christmas; so the holidays take me on an emotional roller coaster that leave me feeling spent, even - or especially from the anxiety of just anticipating feeling spent . . . WHEW! . .
Somehow, I feel, like I’m not alone, here; so, it is in this spirit that I share this anecdote along with some tips that I learned from one of my favorite podcasts, Therapy for Black Girls, on “Steadying Yourself for the Holidays” In session 33 of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed therapist in Atlanta, Georgia, offers the following six tips for maintaining your mental health during the holidays:
Be realistic about your budget; think of gifts that don’t have an obvious monetary amount. Create new traditions, or reexamine old ones. Make a game plan for dealing with the loss of a loved one. Set and stick to your boundaries Build downtime in your schedule just for yourself. Allow yourself space to feel whatever you feel. CONTINUED ON P. 5
CONTINUED ON P. 5
