5 mental health tips for the holiday season

As much as the holidays can be wonderful and a time for cheer and fellowship with your loved ones, they can also be a complicated time for many. Whether this is the time of year you enjoy or dread the most, both feelings are perfectly normal and valid. It’s important to make space for whatever this time brings up for you and honoring what feels most important to you.

Felicia Burnett, Associate Professional Counselor at The Worth, Wisdom, and Wellness Center in Atlanta, GA, shares five helpful tips for getting through the holiday season.

Spend time doing what makes you feel good.

This can even mean deciding not to spend time with family or friends, deciding not to attend gatherings, deciding not to decorate or cook, and simply deciding not to engage in anything that doesn’t serve you. Do not let society or social media dictate what your holidays should look and feel like.

It’s okay to embrace change.

Change can include creating new traditions or deciding to do something different from how things are normally done.

Honor your grief.

Holidays can be a painful reminder of things that may no longer be a part of our lives anymore, whether it’s someone you loved or a life you once knew. There is a lot of emphasis on being merry and bright but that’s not the only way everyone feels during this time of year. Flow with and respect what you’re feeling instead of trying to force yourself to feel what you think is expected of you. There is space for both joy and sadness.

Be mindful of people-pleasing tendencies and how they can impact your holiday season.

Overextending yourself, overcompensating, feelings of guilt or shame coupled with the inability to say “No” — these are all familiar friends when you have people-pleasing tendencies. There is a lot of pressure during this time of the year to keep up, or to do and be all the things for everyone. Don’t forget to prioritize yourself just as much as you show up for others.

Find time to be present and enjoy the moment.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, we can lose sight of what really matters which usually doesn’t include all the materialistic things attached to holidays. Cherish these moments and make time to practice gratitude for all that you already have.