Maintaining your mental wellness during the Christmas holiday

The festive season of the Christmas holiday should be a time of joy and spending time with your loved ones. However, for some individuals, it can turn out to be one of the most stressful and lonely periods of the year. The frantic present buying, unexpected visits from siblings you have not seen in a long time, party preparations, and even loneliness can have a significant negative impact on one’s mental wellness. Researchers have suggested that more and more people have started to perceive the Christmas holiday as a negative event of the year for various reasons. It is indeed a pity that the true significance of the spirit of this holiday has gotten distorted in the modern world we live in.  But instead of completely destroying the meaning of the holiday and allowing stress to overwhelm your feeling and thoughts, you need to find healthy ways to take care of your wellbeing. Read below some suggestions that will help you deal with the holiday period.

Plan ahead

The most crucial aspect that tends to destroy the true positive spirit of Christmas is the immense amount of stress individuals are feeling. Hosting Christmas dinner has become a drudgery that makes people stress out even for the smallest details. Party preparations, shopping lists, deep cleaning, and the anxiety of catching up with siblings produce high levels of anxiety and stress that affect the mental wellbeing of the individuals. The best way to avoid Christmas stress as much as possible is to plan ahead the tasks that need to be completed. Moreover, there is no shame in asking for help. If you are hosting the dinner party, you can ask some of your guests to bring a thing or two to take some of your chores away and help you loosen up your mind.

Do not avoid family gatherings

Unfortunately, we live in a busy modern world which keeps us busy most of our time at our jobs. It has been noticed an increasing trend of breaking family bonds. We rarely have the time to meet with our loved ones often and maintain strong contact with all of our siblings. That is why, nowadays, the family gatherings during the festive holiday are perceived as family obligations by most of the individuals. Some families love getting together and enjoy spending time with each other. But for some, reconnecting just for one day of the year seems impossible and extremely unpleasant. However, no matter how disconnected you might feel from your family members, Christmas time is about family bonding, sharing stories, and spending quality time together. Moreover, there is nothing more valuable in this world than the unconditional love of your family members. Spending time with your loved ones is extremely important for your mental wellness during the holiday season.

Avoid excessive eating

We all know that Christmas dinner comes with a rich dinner table with various delicious foods. Each guest brings some of the specialties they have prepared for the festive holiday. Surely, it might be hard to abstain your mouth-watering feeling when seeing so many delicious foods. However, excessive eating can severely affect your wellbeing. During the festive season, doctors reveal that more and more individuals come to the hospital due to severe indigestion. Try to avoid getting tempted by the availability of food and drink and be considerate about eating and drinking with moderation.

Practice gratitude

Every day of your life is a good time to show gratitude and kindness. But there is something special about the festive season that makes people feel more emotional and aware of the fulfilling aspects of their lives. Being just a few days before the New Year’s Eve, Christmas is the best time to take a look back at all the experiences and achievements you had during the year that is about to end. It is a good opportunity to practice gratitude as a method to improve and maintain your mental wellness. Taking a look back at all the good stuff from your life and setting exciting resolutions for the future will make you stay happy and motivated.  Take advantage of this time of the year to express your gratitude and share kindness with the most important people from your life. Buy meaningful Christmas gifts, place it in beautiful and colorful christmas bags, and make your loved ones happy. There is nothing more rewarding than to see the people you love smiling.

Spending Christmas alone

Spending Christmas alone can trigger strong feelings of loneliness which can affect your mental health. Some individuals deal with social anxiety problems, bad relationships with their families, or live far from their relatives. Loneliness at Christmas can be particularly hard. Unfortunately, psychologies say that there is an alarmingly increasing number of suicidal attempts during Christmas time.  So, if you have to spend the festive season alone, plan ahead to find entertaining ways to reduce the feeling of loneliness. You can consider volunteering at local homeless shelters to help less fortunate people, at community activities, or go out to spread kindness with the people you meet on the streets.   

Take time for yourself

If you have spent the holiday season going back and forward, you definitely need to rest for a little bit.  After being caught up in the stressing period of the festive season, we all need to take a break. Attending every activity or party that you have been invited to can be extremely tiring. If the holidays have brought up some concerning emotions or thoughts due to the rising stress levels, allow yourself to take a day off and just focus on your mental wellness.  To release the anxiety and stress that you might be dealing with, practice natural stress relief methods such as meditation, yoga, or exercise.

The holiday season can be a time of fun and joy, but it can also take its toll on your mental health.  Financial stress, social anxiety, packed calendars, and long shopping lists can be overwhelming. Looking after your mental health during the Christmas season is the best way to ensure that you fully enjoy the true spirit of the holiday.