It’s hard to avoid the feeling of sadness during the holiday season. Christmas is a time for friends, family, and love. But it’s also a time for loneliness, stress, and depression. In this blog we will explore how to cope with holiday season sadness by looking at different ways you can make your own happiness during the holidays.
When you find yourself feeling down during the holidays, it can be easy to want to avoid the people you love. This will only make your feelings worse and lead to a lot of alone time. Instead, try remembering that there’s still good times ahead – and keep in mind that they’re out there.
4 Effective Strategies to Help Decrease and Manage Holiday Blues
The holiday season is a time of joy, but it can also be a time of stress. The good news is that there are ways to prevent and manage holiday blues. Let’s look at 4 effective strategies for managing and working through holiday blues:
1. Set realistic expectations
- If you’re planning on preparing a large dinner, you may want to spread the work out over multiple days rather than try to do it all in one evening.
- If your holiday shopping exceeds one week, break it up into two or three parts with a day of rest in between each shopping trip.
- Don’t expect your family and friends to be available at all times during the holidays. Even if someone is unavailable for an hour or two, that does not mean that you cannot maintain a connection via phone or email.
2.Keep things in perspective
- One way to avoid feeling overwhelmed is to remember that the holidays are just one moment of time in the grand scheme of things.
- Maintain a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly by staying busy with activities throughout the day, even if it’s just a 30-minute walk or grocery shopping.
- Try to practice mindfulness meditation every day, even on short breaks throughout your day.
3.Leave room for letting go
- You can’t get everything done and still have time left over to enjoy the day with friends and family. Leave some tasks undone or delay them until later, as well as leave at least one night of the week to relax completely.
- Try to schedule a few minutes each day before bedtime for self-care: light reading, meditation, journaling, taking a bath or shower, etc.
- Feel free to combat stress through activities that you enjoy like working out, listening to music, taking a walk, reading a book, etc.
4.Focus on the important things
- Manage your time in a way that you’re aware of what you want to accomplish and use your limited resources wisely.
- If you’re overwhelmed with tasks, break them down into smaller chunks that can be done more frequently and prioritize based on importance for a certain time period.
- If you have questions about a particular task or need help prioritizing, set up an appointment with someone to discuss it further or delegate the task to another person.
8 Tips for a Healthy Season of Giving
1. Be realistic about your budget.
2. Get in the giving mood!
3. Consider donating to a charity in honor of someone special.
4. Be mindful of your time and energy level.
5. Make a plan for how you will spend that time and energy wisely, with balance in mind!
6. Give to others what they need most from you: your attention, encouragement, and appreciation!
7. Stay tuned for ways to stay involved with the work of your favorite charities over the holidays and beyond!
8. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates on our campaigns throughout the season—and feel free to share them with friends who may be interested in giving back this year too!
How to Find Joy in the Holidays When You Feel Down
The holidays are a time for celebration, family, and friends. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try to get into the spirit of things, we just don’t feel like celebrating. We may be stressed out about money or relationships; it might feel like there’s some other obstacle in the way of us feeling happy and joyous this season. So, what can we do when the holidays are feeling less than merry?
1) Take care of yourself: The first step to finding joy in the holidays is to take care of yourself. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed during this time of year, especially if you’re someone who has a tough time shutting off. But taking care of your mental and emotional self is so important during this time of year as well! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the expectations that are put on you during the holidays, use some self-care practices such as meditating, journaling, or taking a long bubble bath. If you find yourself struggling with depression during these months, take care of your physical self too: make sure you’re getting enough sleep, exercise daily, if possible (even just 30 minutes can make such a huge difference!), and take time to focus on the things that bring you joy so that you don’t feel like your only option is falling into this deep darkness.
2) Use your energy wisely: The second step to finding joy in the holidays is to use your energy wisely. There are a few ways we can do this. For example, we could spend our time working on our list of things to do or we can enjoy the holiday with our family and friends. Work on your list of things to do: If you work on your list, then you will feel more accomplished. Because it is difficult for people who have a lot going on in their life during the holidays, it is important that you take care of yourself by getting everything done that needs to be completed before the big day. This will also prevent you from being “overwhelmed” during the holidays. Enjoy the holiday with your family and friends: The second step to having a happy and joyful holiday is to spend time with your family and friends. It is important that you make time to relax, enjoy, play games, and bond with those around you.
3) Keep in mind what makes you feel joyous: The third step to finding joy in the holidays is to keep in mind what makes you feel joyous. This is difficult for some people, as there are many things that may trigger joy for different people. For example, if you enjoy snow and ice during the holidays, find it joyful to watch the snow flurries or have a snowball fight with your family and friends. If you enjoy the food, this is a good time to try new things. Or if you like baking sweets to share with your family, that might make you feel joyous.
4) Watch how others celebrate: The fourth step in finding joy in the holidays is to observe how other people are celebrating. Even though you may not be able to participate in some of those traditions, it can still be inspiring and fun to watch. For example, if you are looking for a new tradition for Christmas this year, consider watching a holiday movie or series with your family and friends.
5) Make of list of what you enjoy: The fifth step in finding joy in the holidays is to make a list of what you enjoy about these special days—the people you are with, your traditions, how everyone (or as many people as possible) gets into the holiday spirit. Then choose one item from that list and do it for a week straight. For example, if one thing you enjoy about Christmas is decorating your tree, then try decorating your tree for an entire week. If you enjoy creating ornaments, spend the week crafting and designing ornaments for gift giving.
Knowing that you will be bombarded with and surrounded by people, it is important to take care of yourself. It is also important that you take breaks, find time for yourself, and have some time to recharge your battery. There are many steps involved in finding joy in the holidays, and each person must take their own journey. However, taking these steps could help people find happiness during this often-stressful time of year.
So guess what, if you enjoy watching holiday movies, take some time to binge watch your favorite movie or series. The best way to deal with Christmas blues is by looking forward to what the future holds. How many more Christmas are you going to have? Consider your plans for after-Christmas day? Remember, your future is bright and full of potential.
