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Ask a Therapist: Handling The Holiday Stress [Transcript]
How do I deal with feeling isolated during the holidays?
How do I deal with feeling isolated during the holidays? This can be really tough and there are a few things that you can do when you are feeling alone around the holiday season to make sure that you feel a little bit more connected. The first thing is to reach out to friends or family members for support. These people may not be close but they would be someone that you can call or video chat to have a conversation and feel really connected to the important people in your life. The second is to reach out to a therapist. If you are not already seeing someone, this can be a great time to establish a therapeutic relationship and start taking care of and protecting your mental health. The third thing you can do is to volunteer. This does two things, it allows you to get out into the community and to use the time you have been using by yourself to give back to others in need. The second thing it does is allow you to connect with other people who are giving back to the community as well. You can really establish a relationship with people who have similar passions as you.
How do I deal with the loss of a loved one during the holidays?
How do I deal with the loss of a loved one during the holiday season? This is such a tough one because the holidays are the time of year where we really feel the absence of our loved ones the most intensely. Some things to help would be to first take a moment to think about how you want to honor and remember your loved one. Be mindful of what the holidays meant for them but also be mindful of what your own needs are during this period. It is okay to set boundaries with friends and family and let them know if you want to skip out on certain events, rituals and whether or not you feel comfortable talking about your loved one. It is also important to let family and friends know how they can be there to support you as well as not allowing others to tell you how you should or should not feel. How you feel should be honored. If engaging in old traditions is painful, it might help to set new traditions to honor your loved ones. This could be lighting a candle at dinner so that their presence still follows or perhaps buying a gift and donating it to someone in need. This way, your loved one still has an impact on the world whether they are still here or not.
Read more: What to Remember When Thinking About Holiday Grief
Along with my mental health, how do I deal with my physical health during the holidays?
How do we deal with the stress of not having enough time to go to the gym or eating our routine diet of healthy food. My answer or suggestion would be that it’s the holiday season, you are supposed to have fun and not worry too much about going to work out. You can also find some small 10 minute workouts, mindfulness exercises, some breathing exercises just so that you get some kind of self care throughout the holiday season. I would also maybe try to eat a lot of foods that have healthy or natural fats in it. Again, it’s the holidays, if you don’t have time to go to the gym, don’t stress too much about it. After the holiday season, you will have more time to work out and you will go back to your routine. If it is stressing you out, stick to very short exercises.
Watch: Ask a Therapist, Part 1
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