Taking Care of Your Mental Health During the Holidays
A Holly (and Hectic) Time of the Year
It is almost common knowledge that the holiday season can be very stressful for people and that depression as well as other issues can affect your mental health during the holidays. There are dozens of regional, secular, and religious holidays celebrated at the end of the calendar year, from Thanksgiving in the United States and other countries to Hanukkah to Christmas to Kwanzaa and topped off with New Year’s Eve and Day. Many people put pressure on themselves during this time of year and society pitches in with all that we are expected to do for friends, family, coworkers, and others during what on the surface should be a happy time on the calendar.
If you have struggled with mental health disorders in the past or present, it is important to be aware of the effects on your mental health during the holidays. At You Behavioral Health, we can assist with getting through what can be a trying time of year.
During almost every phase of your life, you will experience additional stress during the holiday season. That is because, at least for society in the Western World, the major holidays fall at the end of the year. The end of the year brings other pressures that have nothing to do with the holidays occurring, which compounds how hectic your life can become during just a few weeks. No matter whether you are a student, an educator, a parent or grandparent, or in one of the many business fields including manufacturing, end-of-the-year stresses on top of those presented by each holiday can be burdensome.
If you are a student, a semester may end, or you may have projects that teachers, instructors, and professors want to do before the calendar year ends. On the other side of the educational coin, if you are an instructor of some type, you may be on the deadline to have a lot of administrative work done during the holiday season. If you are a parent or grandparent, you could be under pressure from work, figuring out holiday plans, and transporting children to and from additional holiday season activities, all while feeling the financial strains of trying to have a happy holiday season.
If you work in industry, your fiscal year may have ended, but you can still have deliverables that must be accomplished before the calendar turns to January. Many industries have goals that run through the end of the year and, to be blunt, in many cases no one cares if you have to fit in holiday shopping on top of everything that is going on at work. Mental health during the holidays can definitely suffer, and if you work in a high-pressure job or industry, life might not feel so jolly. There are ways to take care of yourself and those around you during this stressful time of year. First, here are some of the ways the holiday season can affect our mental health.
Why the Holiday Season Can Affect Our Mental Health
Lack of time, financial pressure, gift-giving, and family gatherings are four major reasons why people feel additional stress during the holiday season. First, as it is nice to talk about time management, to-do lists, being organized, and making a plan, you will be pressed for time at one point or another during the holiday season. This is not as bad during the rest of the year when you have a hectic schedule because everyone seems to lack time once the holiday season arrives. So not only have you put a lot of stress on yourself to get stuff done, but everyone around you, from your inner circle to perfect strangers, is also feeling the clock tick down.
Financial pressure can come from all the holiday spending that occurs and from work. In many professions, tasks and items need to be closed out by the last day of the year, and when this does not occur, there can be major financial and legal ramifications. On the holiday side of the house, in addition to gift giving, all of the events surrounding the calendar’s big dates can cost money. Travel to and from relatives, food costs, special events at school and work, and innumerable other odds and ends all add up on the spending side of the ledger.
There are several gift-giving holidays that all occur at the end of the year. Three majors are Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and other official and unofficial celebrations involve purchasing gifts, too. Gift-giving causes stress due to finances and the pressure of impressing or making other people happy. Getting the right gift for someone may not financially impact you, but you still want to see their face light up. Throughout the decades, parents have been pressured to get the trending gift for their children, from Cabbage Patch Kids in the 1980s to the latest gaming console right through 2022.
Family gatherings cause additional stress for several reasons that can negatively affect your mental health during the holidays. First, you have all of the reasons above: lack of time, financial pressure, and gift-giving. Second, getting together with family members can be stressful due to group dynamics. If there has been strife or conflict at any point throughout the year between family members, it can often come out during the holidays. This affects people two-fold: because of the possible conflict between two or more people and the actual butting of heads that can occur.
4 Tips to Focus on Mental Health During the Holidays
There are definitely ways to help you and those around you get through the holidays with the minimum effects regarding your mental health.
- Give yourself a break: Be patient and avoid thoughts like, “ the world will end” if you do not get something done.
- Make a detailed plan: No, even a good plan can not take into account all of the hurdles that the holiday season will put in your way, from canceled flights to stores being out of stock, but it will certainly help. Also, be sure to let everyone in your circle in on your plan so they can help or at least know what you are trying to accomplish.
- Manage Relationships: do not wait until Christmas Eve or the first night of Hanukkah to bring up something that has been bothering you since the summer. Have conversations with your loved ones as needed before the major days on the calendar.
- Manage Expectations; If there is no way that your child is getting the same $500 gift under the tree that their peers might be getting, do not wait for Christmas Day to come for them to be disappointed. This is also a good idea when it comes to attending events, family or otherwise. You must ensure you take care of yourself first and then worry about seeing other people.
Get Help Throughout the Year with You Behavioral Health
Support is the last piece of the puzzle, no matter what time of year it may be. If you are feeling stressed, depressed, anxious, or dealing with any other mental issues, give You Behavioral Health a call at (855) 206-2268. We can help.