Navigating Holiday Stress
By Eva Melendez, LPC
It’s the Holiday season. A time for connection with our loved ones, celebration, tradition, and lots of delicious food. This also means a packed social calendar, increased work demands, and shorter winter days.
The American Psychological Association estimates 89% of Adults in the United States experience an increased amount of stress during the holiday season. This can be from feeling the social and cultural pressures to be social, present, and happy. Navigating challenging family interactions. Experiencing the financial and economic pressures of gift-giving. Navigating grief and loss after the passing of loved ones. Or perhaps, the inability to be able to be with the ones we care about the most. For a lot of us, we are experiencing multiple stressors during this time and it is important that we take care of our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. With the holiday season, people can experience physical illness, depression, anxiety, have a more difficult time in reaching out to others, leading to increased feelings of isolation, sadness, and use of substances to cope.
Here are some tips to take care of yourself this holiday season:
- Make sure you are eating, sleeping, and moving your body. By meeting our bodies’ most essential needs, we can build resilience to stress.
- Check in with yourself more often, and more frequently. By checking in with ourselves we can set more realistic expectations for the season so that we do not over extend ourselves-physically, mentally, emotionally, and/or financially.
- Find time for yourself. Schedule outdoor walks or movement in the middle of the day when the sun is its brightest Engage in meaningful activities such as: reading, writing, knitting, meditating, gratitude journaling, painting, music, etc.
- Connect with your communities. We are social beings, and our communities can help us get through life just a bit easier. We can connect with people via phone, text, email, mail, and/or social media. Connect with support groups, community centers, faith communities, friends, family, and loved ones.
References
Bethune, S. (2023, November 30). Even a joyous holiday season can cause stress for most Americans. American Psychological Association.https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/11/holiday-season-stress
Bommersbach, T. (2023, November 27). Supporting your mental health during the holiday season. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA].
https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/supporting-your-mental-health-during-holiday-season
McLean Mass General Hospital. (n.d.) McLean’s Guide to Managing Mental Health Around the Holidays. McLean: Putting People First in Mental Health. https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/mcleans-guide-managing-mental-health-around holidays#:~:text=A%202023%20survey%20by%20the,%2Dgiving%2C%20and%20family%20gatherings.