Mental health can be tricky to manage on the best of days, but it becomes especially pertinent during the holiday season. Family gatherings, spending, and a disrupted routine can make maintaining a healthy mind challenging. Putting your mental well-being first could mean lowering your expectations, prioritizing regular movement, and setting boundaries with the people in your life. It may be the season for spreading joy, but it’s tough to do if you don’t prioritize your mental well-being.
Mental health over the holidays
For some, the holiday season is relaxing and joyful—but that’s not the case for everyone. The holidays have become synonymous with happiness, and societal expectations can be stressful for some people. It can be stressful and overwhelming if you don’t feel all that jolly.
Maintaining good mental health can be tricky, especially when your routine is thrown off. Other contributing factors for a more challenging holiday season might include:
- Financial strain from overspending
- Relationship stress with family get-togethers
- Reduced work and stress about financial repercussions
- Cold weather and reduced sunlight make you feel down
- Cold and flu season can dampen mood
According to research, roughly 89% of people say their concerns over not having enough money, anticipating family conflict, and missing their loved ones contribute to stress and worsened mental health during the holidays.
So, how do you fix that to avoid being part of the statistic? Take the appropriate steps this season to keep yourself feeling good amid the extra pressure.
7 tips to keep your mental health in check this holiday season
1. Skip the expectations
The expectations and fantasies about what a good holiday season “should” be could be harming your mental health. Hallmark movies aren’t the reality for most people, so don’t get caught up in the image of the “perfect holiday.” It’s nice to hope for smooth sailing and a good time for your family, but don’t stress out if things don’t go to plan.
Set your expectations appropriately to avoid disappointment. While you can’t control other people and their actions, you can adjust your expectations and reactions.
Hope for the best, but understand that the season may not match your expectations.
2. Prioritize movement
When the hecticness of the holiday season fully sets in, it may be tempting to skip your usual workout regimen. However, keeping the habit, or even making a point to move a little more, could help reduce stress.
Exercise boosts the production of endorphins, the body’s natural mood elevators. It also reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Stress and feelings of overwhelm are responses from the nervous system, and regular movement is one of the easiest ways to regulate them.
But remember, intensity isn’t everything. You don’t need to go too hard with your workouts. Short and slow movements, such as walking or yoga, can also make a difference. Stay consistent and see how your body and mind respond.
3. Acknowledge your feelings
Your feelings are valid, so grant yourself permission to feel everything—happiness, sadness, anger, upset, or excitement. You might have conflicting emotions, like loneliness and joy or grief and hope, and that’s okay!
To process and articulate your feelings is to feel better about them. An emotion checklist can help you identify how you’re feeling. Writing things down or articulating them to a trusted friend is also a great way to feel validated and relieved.
There’s a bit of pressure that you “must” feel joyful over the holidays, and that’s often unrealistic. Putting up a cheerful front and masking over the holidays often makes you feel worse.
Talking to a therapist and setting time limits and boundaries around negative feelings can also be helpful. For example, you could let yourself cry for an hour and then make intentional moves to cheer yourself up. Pushing through the emotion and allowing yourself to feel it is one of the biggest signs of internal strength.
4. Set boundaries (and don’t be afraid to say no)
Let this season be the season of no’s. Saying “yes” always, especially when you want to say “no,” can lead to resentment, burnout, and feeling overwhelmed. “No” is a perfectly valid response—you don’t owe people an explanation for your boundaries.
Setting boundaries and reining them in over the holidays is essential. For some people, this might mean sticking to a strict budget; for others, it could mean limiting the time they spend with friends and family. Your capacity for fulfilling people’s requests is totally up to you.
Decide what you’re comfortable with and stick to that. Remind yourself to say no.
5. Stick to your routine
A big part of the stress over the holidays is dealing with the unfamiliar. A good way to avoid burnout from an altered schedule is not to change it—stick to your regular routine. Strike a balance with your daily routine, keep the things that make you happy, and focus on taking some time each night to unwind.
Spontaneity around the holidays can be fun, but humans thrive on predictability and routine. Try your best to maintain your sleep schedule, take breaks from social gatherings, and resist the urge to put off too many things until the new year. Balance your routine with the changes to avoid burnout.
6. Practice gratitude
Studies show that people who practice gratitude experience less stress, better sleep, less depression, healthier relationships, and better professional performance. Gratitude also motivates people to make healthier food choices.
Journaling is a tried-and-true classic way to show gratitude. You could also create a “gratitude jar”—write down an experience you feel grateful for on scrap paper and put it in the jar. You can pull from the jar if you’re feeling low and want to reflect on a more positive time and potentially share it with others.
Make this a consistent practice so it becomes a habit. It may seem small, but it will compound over time and make you feel mentally stronger in the long term.
7. Give back
It is the season of giving, after all. Volunteering over the holidays will help others but also help you increase your life satisfaction and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. A study conducted by United Healthcare found that Americans who volunteered reported higher levels of life satisfaction, increased control over their lives, and overall feelings of being emotionally and physically healthier. Older adults, in particular, report a more positive attitude toward aging and control over their health.
Ask around, search online, and find service opportunities in your community. Pick something well-suited to your values and abilities. Even a charitable donation or sending a card can be a great way to treat someone and your mental health as well.
Bottom line
While you might be thinking about caring for others and spreading joy this holiday season, remember to take care of yourself, too. By moving your body, setting boundaries, and practicing gratitude, you can feel better and make the holidays more joyful. Don’t be afraid to say no to things, and try to manage your expectations. At the end of the day, it’s just a season, and you can get through it and come out the other side better than you may think.
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