The holiday season is upon us and though it is a joyous time, for some of us it can also be quite overwhelming, stressful, and sometimes even lonely.
I certainly know how this feels. To be honest with you, the holidays always bring a whole lot of negative emotions for me. There’s always this giant societal pressure for us to feel nothing but joy and merriment. It’s like everyone expects us to be brimming with happiness but often, that doesn’t truly align with what we feel.
I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of times, I was forced to put on a smile, pretend that everything was perfect and just go through the motions. I didn’t realize that doing this was taking so much toll on my mental health. It made everything more overwhelming and even made me feel even more isolated and drained.
It was like I was trapped in a cycle of pretending and suffering in silence, which only magnified my stress and unhappiness. It was like for every performance of pretending that I was brimming with holiday cheer, I was also slowly destroying my mental and emotional health.
If you also struggle with your mental health during the holiday season, please know that you are not alone. What you’re going through is completely valid and it doesn’t diminish you as a person.
In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the things I do to care for my mental health during the holiday season. Please know that taking care of your mental health, especially during times of increased stress and expectations is not just important but essential.
I hope that sharing these tips will offer you some guidance on how to prioritize your mental health during this season and help make your holidays a little easier to manage.
How To Take Care Of Your Mental Health
1. Remember That It’s Okay To Say No
How many times have you said yes to things regardless of how exhausted and drained you already felt because you were so afraid of disappointing other people? I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve been in this situation.
I’ve always struggled with saying no to other people. I thought that saying no would somehow diminish my worth and value towards them. You see growing up, I was told that my worth was based on how useful I was to other people. I took that belief as I grew older and it didn’t really matter how many things I had on my plate or if I was drained and tired I still felt compelled to say yes.
Somehow this belief seemed to magnify during the holiday season and because of constantly saying yes to everything and everyone, I ended up feeling so overwhelmed and burned out to the point that my mental health struggled.
If you feel the same way too, please know that there is completely nothing wrong with saying no and setting boundaries. Doing this will never diminish your worth and value as a person.
Please know that just like everybody else, you too deserve to put your needs first. You too deserve to respect your limitations and prioritize your mental health.
We have to keep reminding ourselves that saying no does not mean that we are being rude or unkind. It doesn’t mean that we are shutting other people out entirely. It simply means that we are honoring our own needs and limits.
By saying no, we are making room for our own well-being and peace and making sure that we are not spreading ourselves too thin.
Know that it’s all about maintaining balance and giving ourselves space to recharge and reset, especially during a stressful and overwhelming season. So, please don’t ever feel guilty for saying no and prioritizing your mental health.
2. Don’t Compare
During this season, it’s so easy to start comparing our lives with other people. Especially, with social media around, it’s so easy to see snapshots of other people’s lives where they’re having the perfect holiday or enjoying luxurious vacations.
I’ve been in this situation too. Whenever I see people on social media brimming with holiday cheer and happiness, this always makes me feel like there is something wrong with me because I don’t feel that way.
I usually end up comparing myself to others and feeling like I’m falling short. I didn’t realize that this constant comparison and self-doubt was taking so much toll on my mental health.
I was not only robbing myself of the chance to actually enjoy myself without constantly comparing myself to others, but I was also draining my energy and spirit.
I’ve learned that the best thing that we can do is to remind ourselves that everyone experiences the holidays in different ways. There is certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach to celebrating.
We all feel different emotions and we all go through different things and you know what? That’s perfectly okay. The best thing that we can do is to focus all our attention on what brings us personal joy and fulfillment rather than what seems to make other people happy.
Know that we can find joy, peace, and happiness in creating our own traditions and choosing activities and experiences that truly matter to us, instead of what is expected of us.
I’ve learned that by honoring our circumstances, we can cultivate a more personal and meaningful way of celebrating, one that reflects our values and true selves, not an image crafted just to gain approval from other people.
So, if you ever find yourself comparing your holiday season to other people, pause and remind yourself that your holiday doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s just to be special. As long as you focus on what aspects of the holiday truly make you happy and fulfilled, then it’s already meaningful.
Related Posts:
- 15 Mental Health Goals For A Happy And Fulfilling Life
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- 10 Small Things To Do To Find Joy In Life Again
3. Acknowledge All Your Feelings
When the holiday season comes, there’s always this big societal pressure for us to be happy and cheery. It’s like we are expected to only feel happiness and nothing else.
But unfortunately, this expectation is just so unrealistic which can easily make us feel overwhelmed and even isolated. This is usually how I feel, the holidays can get pretty tough for me, they can bring up a lot of negative emotions and I always feel compelled to pretend that everything is perfect and that I’m so happy.
But that’s not the case and feeling all these other negative emotions just make me think that maybe there is something wrong with me or that maybe I’m not doing something right. This makes me feel so alone, especially when it seems that everyone else is having a great time.
If you’re feeling the same way, please know that you are certainly not alone. There is nothing wrong with you. Everything that you’re feeling is perfectly valid. Just because you don’t feel merry and happy doesn’t mean that you are not doing the holidays right.
It’s normal to feel a range of emotions. It’s okay not to be filled with holiday cheer all the time. Feeling all these negative emotions doesn’t diminish you as a person.
Just because you don’t feel happy all the time doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person. It simply means that you are human and experiencing a natural response to expectations and societal pressures.
Don’t beat yourself up for feeling this way. The best thing that you can do is to allow yourself space to acknowledge all these emotions without judgment. Let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling.
I’ve learned that by allowing ourselves to process all these emotions fully, we are taking a huge step towards self care, self-awareness, and building emotional resilience which improves the quality of our mental health and well-being.
Also, please know that it’s okay to step back and take a break from all the festive obligations if they become too much. Instead, focus on activities and things that make you feel peaceful and grounded.
4. Learn To Let Go Of Control
Have you ever found yourself spending so much time and effort trying to control every little aspect of your life and planning for every possible outcome? I’ve certainly been in this situation countless times.
I have always been what other people would like to call a “control freak”. I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of time I’ve spent trying to plan for every possible scenario and this habit only seems to magnify during the holiday season.
I always find myself overwhelmed with the need to make every single thing perfect. I have this notion that as long as I try to control every little thing and plan for every possible outcome, I can somehow prevent things from going wrong. But of course, that’s not always the case.
Because the reality is that, regardless of how hard we try, there will always be things that are beyond our control. Trying to control every little thing in my life only added so much stress and overwhelm to my holiday season.
Instead of actually enjoying every moment of it, I found myself constantly filled with anxiety and dread, worried about what could go wrong next. I’ve learned that one of the best things that we can do for our mental health, not just this holiday season, is to learn to let go of control.
We have to stop ourselves from spending so much time and effort trying to control every little area of our lives.
We have to remind ourselves that doing this doesn’t mean that we are being irresponsible or that we are just living everything to chance. It actually means that we are choosing to focus on the things that we can actually influence and letting go of the rest.
Doing this does not only lessen the feeling of overwhelm and anxiety, but it also frees us up to experience everything more fully.
5. Prioritize Self Care
I know that we have probably heard the phrase “prioritize self care” more than a dozen times, but it’s still one of those things that is just so much easier said than done. I have always been guilty of taking self care for granted.
To be honest with you, for the longest time, I thought that self care was nothing but a complete waste of time. Sure, it’s so easy to make time for it when everything in our lives is going right and when we don’t have so many things on our plate but when life gets hectic, especially during the holiday season, self care often feels like the first thing to drop off our to-do list.
It wasn’t until I found myself at my lowest point, burned out and drained, that I’ve finally realized just how crucial self care is, especially during hard and chaotic times. If you also feel guilty about taking time for yourself, please know that self care is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
You deserve to take care of your needs. You deserve to make time for the things that calm and ground you. You can’t just keep pushing yourself to the brink without expecting yourself to break. As cliche as it sounds, you truly cannot pour from an empty cup.
The only way for us to truly function and continue to show up for other people is if we also show up for ourselves. Please don’t ever feel guilty for prioritizing self care.
Doing this not only greatly improves your mental health but also helps you manage stress effectively. It allows us to keep going, recharge, and handle life’s demands and challenges with resilience and clarity.
This holiday season, let’s make it a point to make time for self care regardless of how busy are schedule is. Know that practicing self care doesn’t have to consume so much of our time, it could be as simple as taking 15 minutes to take deep breaths or going for a short walk around the block.
The important thing is it allows us the chance to take a step back from the noise and chaos and just breathe, and reset.
Don’t know where to start? Take this 30 day self care challenge now.
Final Thoughts
The holiday season can be stressful and overwhelming, so please don’t ever feel guilty for taking a step back from everything and prioritizing your mental health. Know that what you’re doing is not selfish nor is it neglecting your responsibilities.
Instead, it’s an essential act that ensures you can handle the demands of the season without burning out. I hope this post inspires you to explore activities that nourish your soul and mind. Activities that allow you a chance to take care of your needs and reconnect with what truly brings you happiness.
Before I end this post, I want to encourage you to be kind to yourself, especially during this season, don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go as planned or if you find yourself struggling.
Please remember that everyone experiences the holidays differently. Please give yourself the gift of compassion and know that taking care of our mental health is one of the foundations for sharing genuine joy and love with others.
Always remember, that I’m rooting for you!
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