As pleasurable as the holiday season promises to be, it can also be extremely stressful and anxiety-inducing. All of us know it, and yet year after year, we find ourselves in the same situations with the same stresses. Is it even possible to enjoy the holiday season anymore?
We say yes. Start with these five tips for minimizing anxiety and maximizing self-care during the holiday season.
Manage Your Expectations
Expectations can skyrocket during the holidays if we’re not careful. And the larger the gap there is between expectation and reality, the more likely anxiety is to arise. But how do you keep your expectations in check? Try this: Make two columns on a sheet of paper. In the first, write down something you’re hoping will happen during the holidays. Maybe you hope your family will get along and sing carols by the fire. Write it down, even if it seems silly. In the next column write what is likely to happen (based on your prior experiences). Is it more likely that your children will be on their phones and that your Uncle Joe will drink too much? While this may seem like a simple exercise, it can help you manage your expectations by balancing hope with realism. You can do this for the gifts you hope to get, how you hope to feel at parties, or anything else you might have going on this holiday season.
Opt for Alcohol-Free Fun
If you’re prone to anxiety, it may seem like a good idea to have a drink or two in order to relieve your symptoms and experience the “holiday joy” that all the TV commercials promise. But the truth is that alcohol and drugs can make symptoms of anxiety and depression worse. If you tend to feel anxious at holiday parties without a drink, skip them. Holiday parties are not the only place to find joy. If you want to amp up the fun, gather your friends and family for something active and unconventional. Go kayaking in Santa hats. Take a dance class together. Or host a holiday bowling night. Opting for some active, alcohol-free fun will do double duty: it’ll de-stress you, and it’ll give you memories to cherish. And who knows, maybe you’ll even start a new holiday tradition that you look forward to every year.
Prioritize Your Health
We all know that the holiday season tends to cause stress and anxiety. And yet year after year, we continue to pack our calendars with events, make promises to our families, plan elaborate meals, and pile holiday tasks onto our to-do-lists. To compound the stress, we might even skip the gym, eat more sugar, and skimp on sleep. This year, try prioritizing your your physical and mental health during the holiday season. The best way to do this is to put it on paper (or on a digital calendar). Every morning, make it a point to add your health priorities to your calendar. Add your yoga class, meal prep, journaling, and your sleep. If you arrange your holiday tasks around the things that keep you healthy and feeling good, instead of vice versa, you’ll be more likely to stay balanced and strong through the season.
Say No (or at least pause)
You don’t have to say yes to every invitation or every request for your famous meatballs. This can be difficult when you actually want to say yes. Remember, even fun things can cause anxiety if you try to pack too many of them into your schedule. But when everything sounds like fun, how do you know when to say no? Try this: The next time someone invites you to an event or asks for your meatballs, pause and say, “That sounds like so much fun. Let me get back to you.” or “I’d love to, but let me get back to you. I need to look at my schedule.” This way, you buy yourself some time to really consider whether this is something you can fit in without causing anxiety. That’s the key. You may be able to squeeze in those meatballs, but if it will crowd out your downtime or make you have to rush through something else to get to it, then it’s likely to add to your anxiety. When you utter the words, “Let me get back to you,” you’re not only buying yourself time, but you’re also preparing the other person for a potential no, which makes it much easier to say when the time comes.
Create Time Limits
Your spouse’s work party. Your daughter’s school fundraiser. Your sister-in-law’s Christmas Eve dinner. The holidays are often full of obligations that would be awkward to back out of, but that cause anxiety nonetheless. Sometimes it’s the idea of being stuck indefinitely in an uncomfortable environment that causes the most stress. Creating time limits around specific obligations can help manage that anxiety. For example, make an agreement with your spouse ahead of time that you’ll leave together after one hour. In some situations, showing up is enough, and staying for an hour is above and beyond. But in other situations, you may be confronted with questions about why you have to leave so soon. If you think it will be difficult to sneak out with a simple, “We’ve got to run,” then buy movie tickets ahead of time. That way you’ll have an actual reason you have to leave in case anyone asks.
Is anxiety getting in the way of the life you want to live? We can help.
If the above tips and tricks aren’t working to decrease your anxiety, it’s possible that you have an anxiety disorder. If anxiety is getting in the way of your enjoyment, your relationships, and your self-esteem, it may be time to reach out for help. At Alvarado Parkway, we offer a range of services and programs that can help you learn to manage your symptoms, optimize your mental health, and live a satisfying life. For more information, give us a call at 619-333-7050 or fill out our contact form today.
