Enjoy Your Holiday Amid the Difficulties
The holidays can be a wonderful time to spend with friends and loved ones, but it can also be a stressful and difficult time. Our therapists have put together some advice to help you navigate through the difficulties.
1 – Make a Gratitude list. Recognizing your blessings is the opposite of hopelessness and despair
2 – Pull out old Christmas photos and/or videos and remember the wonderful holidays of the past and the sweet innocence of one’s child.
3 – Watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”
4 – Do anonymous service to others in your life that are far less fortunate in their circumstances
5 – Work at a soup kitchen, visit an elderly care center, or drive around giving out gift cards to those less fortunate
6 – Stop, breathe, and inhale the beauty of nature around you
7 – Have a deep meaningful conversation with a loved one over eggnog
8 – Watch a funny holiday movie
9 – Take breaks! Plan on time for quiet and relaxation!
10 – Let go of how the holidays are “supposed” to be and then embrace and enjoy what they are right now.
11 – Have structure but be flexible. Get outside yourself, focus on others. Soak in the small moments.
12- Have reasonable expectations for family members and self. Set a goal for yourself to work on, not what others need to do for you to be happy.