Coping with stress and depression during the holidays
Keep expectations for the holiday season manageable. Try to set realistic
goals for yourself. Pace yourself. Organize your time. Make lists and prioritize
the important activities. Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Do
not put the entire focus on just one day whether it be Thanksgiving, Hanukah,
or Christmas. Remember it is a season of holiday sentiment and activities
that can be spread out to lessen stress and increase enjoyment.
For parents only:Your past cannot be changed by your children’s
presents.
Exercise choice. Don’t be afraid to take more of a stand on how you
really want to celebrate, or even which holidays you want to celebrate this
year.
Exercise imagination. Let this year’s holidays offer a chance to
be more innovative than previous years. Don’t want to hit the crowded malls
again with your mother?
Try taking a long walk together in a park instead.
Practice altruism. Try extending your generosity and energy to others.
There is no better anecdote for the self-absorption associated with the holiday
blues than to get outside yourself and consider the needs of others.
Focus on relationships. The key to making holidays successful is
to understand and, as much as possible, accept the tastes and needs of other
people. Your expectations of significant others is just that, your
expectation. Own it.