5 Ways to Maintain a Positive and Healthy Mindset During the Holidays
The holidays can stir up a dizzying array of emotions in everyone. We all hold sort of a love-hate relationship with the holidays. While they do bring a sense of joy and cheerfulness with them, there are a few unwelcome guests that tag along as well, namely: anxiety and depression. That too, at a record high.
The sense of joy that we associate with the holidays comes at a price. From cooking the perfect meals to shopping for that perfect gift to cleaning your whole house, we are hit with a check-list of ever-mounting demands that just never seem to end. All of these responsibilities add to our stress which makes it hard to maintain a positive mindset. Not to mention, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has not made matters any better.
Festivities, family, friends, and food are all colorful words that are supposed to evoke feelings of happiness, but they come with underlying anxiety and depression triggers during the holidays. Worrying about not living up to everyone’s expectations can really put a damper on things and ruin this great season for us. It can leave you feeling exhausted, stressed, and anxious.
However, by making some mindset changes, you can minimize the stress that comes along with the holidays.
Here are few tips that can help you maintain a positive and healthy mindset during the holidays, so that you may actually enjoy the season in all its glory.
Avoid Social Media Like the Plague
When it comes to the holidays, social media is your enemy.
As the holidays approach, our social media gets flooded with perfect family portraits of people in the latest holiday gear, celebrating life to the fullest. This can make you feel bad about your trouble-riddled life.
Social comparison is the killer of joy during the holidays.
What we forget while comparing ourselves to the people online is that nobody’s life is perfect. Those people smiling ear-to-ear in front of the camera? Well, that is exactly what they are doing. Smiling just for the camera.
We all live life at our own pace and there is just no point in comparing ourselves with someone else.
Remember, It’s the Thought that Counts
Gift-giving can be the most anxiety-inducing aspect of the holidays.
You might feel like an underachiever because your gift did not cost as much as the next person’s. What you might be forgetting is that what counts is the thought and emotion behind a gift and not the money.
Gift-giving does not have to be about spending lots of money.
Any gift that represents love and care trumps everything else regardless of the price tag.
So, do yourself a favor and free yourself from the monetary shackles you have associated your worth with.
Be Grateful
As cliché as this sounds, being grateful is going to save you a whole lot of stress and depression associated with the holidays.
Scientifically speaking, gratitude activates areas of your brain responsible for feelings of compassion, happiness, and self-motivation. And,
When your mind is happy, you are happy.
Some of the amazing effects that gratitude can have:
- Decrease your mood swings
- Positively impact your self-esteem
- Reduce feelings of envy, thereby, making you happier
- Keep anxiety and depression at bay
- Improve our relationships
- Make your more optimistic
- Reduce materialism
Instead of wallowing in your problems, focus on the positive aspects of your life.
Look for the silver lining in your hardships, thank people for being in your life, and count your blessings daily.
Do What Makes You Happy
Holidays can be especially challenging when you have to spend them all alone due to reasons out of your control.
It can increase feelings of loneliness and depression by making you think you are the only one without family or friends to celebrate this occasion with. But,
Learn to make peace with your solitude.
It is better to be alone all by yourself than to feel alone while being surrounded by people.
If the opportunity presents itself, go to an office party set up by your colleagues. Or go to any other gathering set up by your community. Mingle with people and make new friends.
But, if you are an introvert, and your idea of the perfect holiday is spending your day in bed with some popcorn, go ahead.
Do what makes you happy.
Address Your Feelings and Choose to Stay Positive
No problem in this world has ever been solved by refusing to acknowledge it first.
Holidays can be stressful but you can definitely get out the other side feeling positive and healthy.
As the holidays approach, address all the feelings you feel.
Realize that it is normal to feel sad, exhausted, or anxious and that there is nothing wrong with those emotions. Do not force yourself to be happy just because it is the supposed season of cheer.
In fact, do not force your negative thoughts to stay or leave either.
Acknowledge that they are there, and then make a conscious effort to switch to a positive mindset. Positivity takes work and practice, but it is definitely doable and completely worth it.
Seek Professional Help
If you feel like despite your best efforts, you cannot get out of your depressed rut and it has started affecting other areas of your life, do not hesitate to seek professional help.
If the anxiety and stress associated with the holidays are making you consistently lose sleep, suffer mood swings and impact your physical health negatively, talk to a mental health professional and ask for advice.