This article discusses the mental health challenges that can arise during the holidays and offers advice on coping mechanisms, including setting boundaries with family and prioritizing self-care.
Experts say that the holidays can put a strain on your mental health . Different strategies can help mitigate the holiday blues, from volunteering to drawing firm boundaries with family. A strained relationship with family, for example, can make this time of year pretty lonely. The holidays are expensive, and financial woes can cause major stress. Anxiety about holiday anything can fuel depression and worsen existing mental health conditions.
A lot of people at certain years can find the holidays to be more challenging than they have experienced in past years, said Shilagh Mirgain, a psychologist at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin. It’s important to recognize the common humanity that others, too, are struggling. Here’s what experts say you can do to make your holiday season a little more bearable, if not cheery. Certainly this year, I think with the recent election, there’s a lot of divisiveness and discord, and you’re probably having to interact with family members that have really opposing beliefs, she said. That can bring up strong emotions. Think about the boundaries you want to set: What kind of contact do you want to have with your family and how long are you prepared to be around them? It’s also important to give yourself permission to exit the event — and have some strategies in place, she said. For example, if you need some space, go on a walk or run some errands. And if stressful conversations come up, have some language ready to go to draw your boundaries quickly and firmly. You could say, ‘Gosh, thanks for asking, but I don’t talk politics over the holidays,’” Mirgain suggested.The holidays can be difficult for people who are grieving or don’t have anyone nearby with whom to celebrat
HOLIDAYS MENTAL HEALTH STRESS BOUNDARIES SELF-CARE
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