Buckle Up Your Mental Health This Festive Season!

As Christmas decorations go up all over town and year-end fatigue sets in, the need for a break is rapidly approaching. However, for some of us the thought of the festive season can be divided into the following two scenarios:

• How on earth am I going to survive with my family over the festive season?

• How on earth am I going to survive being on my own over the festive season?

If you find yourself in one of the above scenarios, you often end up wishing you were in the other. Regardless which one (if any) applies to you, we all know the festive season comes with more than just rest, joy, fun and relaxation. Sometimes it comes with crippling anxiety, extreme frustration, intense sadness, longing and unbearable irritation. Whether it is your annoying aunt who always makes inappropriate comments, the thought of having to face your father lecturing you on how you are living your life, the guilt that comes with overindulging, the grief that gets triggered because your loved one is no longer around, or the loneliness of having no family around – it can be really difficult to get through this time!

But if you don’t want to be the Grinch that stole Christmas, or let someone else be the Grinch, you do have power to ensure that your festive season is not spoilt by your own actions or those around you. Here’s how:

• Keep it rational! Remember that everything comes down to your mind, so always ensure that you are thinking in a fair, realistic and helpful way – despite the tense situation.

• It will always come down to this choice: to help yourself OR to break yourself down and make it worse. Choose to always think, approach or respond in a way that will help you cope or feel a little better.

• Although it is known as the “silly season”, don’t fool yourself. Yes, your actions do have consequences, so make sure your intentions are good and not destructive.

• Know the standards you have set for yourself during this time – and stick to them. Just make sure they are reasonable and maintainable for yourself and others.

It can be tough to feel the pressure of having to be jolly during this time, so if you don’t feel that way, own it! But remember, you have power over how intensely you feel about something, so why not use this power for good?

I hope you choose to be festive this season, no matter what!

- Michelle McCulloch Clinical Psychologist