Prioritize Your Mental Health This Holiday Season

Nov 27, 2019

Between gift exchanges, workplace holiday parties, and seeing extended family, it's easy to see why the holidays can be a stressful time of year. For people who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, that stress level can rise through the roof, so it's particularly important to give your mind the gift of self-care during the holiday season.

Fitting time to relax into each day is an important way to help relieve stress. Watching a Hallmark movie by the fireplace with a mug of your favorite hot chocolate can be a great way to concentrate on something other than the things that are stressing you out. Listening to relaxing music and lighting holiday scented candles are other simple ways to emphasize the peaceful aspects of the season instead of the hectic ones.

It can always be challenging for people with anxiety to manage their schedules because they tend to spend more time worrying about the past and the future than savoring the present. During the holidays, they often lean toward either trying to do too much or wanting to avoid holiday activities altogether. To help combat over-commitment or avoidance, it is a good idea to carefully consider each event to decide which ones are the most important and fulfilling.

Strive to follow your usual routine as much as possible to provide yourself with a sense of stability. It can be easy to neglect self-care routines, exercising, healthy eating, and carving out time for yourself during the hectic weeks leading up to the holidays, but the little things can be the difference between keeping a healthy balance and becoming overwhelmed by anxiety. The holidays are also not a good time to consider altering your medication; this can be challenging at any time, so it is best to avoid making changes during a season that is already stressful.

Contact Jodi Mitchell, a Fresno therapist with a passion for helping her patients manage their anxiety, to learn more about anxiety counseling or to schedule an appointment to help you manage the stress of the holiday season.