If you are feeling less than merry this holiday season, you’re not alone. Despite the festive environment, depression and anxiety tend to spike this time of year. There are many reasons why the holidays trigger these intense emotions.
An increase in stress, lack of sleep, grieving the loss of a loved one, and loneliness are all amplified during this season. While this is supposed to be a time of good cheer, the reality is that for many the holidays can be a struggle. If you’re having a particularly hard time this year, these three tips will help you navigate through the holidays with grace.
Embrace Your Emotions
One thing that can make the holidays distressing is the expectation that you should be merry and full of good cheer. This often causes us to suppress how we are truly feeling, and even feel guilty about not being in the holiday spirit.
The first step to moving through heavy emotions is to acknowledge them. If you are feeling sad over the loss or absence of a loved one, that’s normal. It’s not only acceptable to cry, it’s healthy! If you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, ignoring it won’t help. Allow yourself to process and express how you feel, instead of pretending that everything is okay when it’s not.
When you slow down enough to acknowledge the way you feel without judgement, you’ll find that you are able to move through the emotion much faster. Often times what should be temporary depression and anxiety lingers because we neglect to process and learn from it.
Depending on the depth of what you are feeling, you may want to work with a mental health professional to help you navigate this process. A good therapist will help you work through these emotions and give you the support that you need to navigate the winter.
Stay Active and Avoid Isolation
There is a difference between processing your emotions, and allowing them to overtake you. While taking time to feel your feelings is an important step, the purpose is to help you move through them, not stay stuck. It is easy to get sucked into the cycle! Throwing yourself into extended isolation may prolong the healing process.
An effective way to beat the winter blues is by staying active! This may be a difficult step when you are feeling down. When we are upset we tend to isolate ourselves from others, and from living our life. By immersing ourselves in the community, we’re more likely to get out of our own heads, and enjoy being a part of the world around us.
Try spending an hour at a cafe, visiting a museum, or taking a class at the gym. The point is to get out of your home and interact with others. We are communal creatures by nature. Communing with others releases the hormone oxytocin and elevates your mood. We need each other. Skip the holiday parties if you aren’t feeling up to them, but find your support system, and make an effort to spend time with them this season.
When You Are Feeling Helpless, Help Someone Else
The fastest way to feel better is to help another in need. Giving is the ultimate uplifter. This can be in the form of charity or volunteer work. It can even be as simple as being extra nice to everyone you interact with throughout the day including coworkers, fellow drivers on the road, and especially store clerks.
Being kind and patient can turn someone’s day around. Plus, you can’t help but feel the good energy that you are putting out. Maybe this hasn’t been your year, but you can help make someone else’s that much brighter. When you open your heart to helping another, you’ll feel the love and good cheer.
Above all, remember to be gentle and compassionate with yourself this time of year. Holidays can bring up intense emotions, and it’s important honor what surfaces for you. Use the end of the year as an opportunity to heal and release various upsets.
By taking the time to work through your emotions, you can start the new year off lighter and happier. And, if the season can inspire anything positive within you, let that be gratitude. When you begin to count your blessings you may find that your life is much more full than you realized, and that just might get you in the holiday spirit!