It should be a given for you to enjoy your holidays, but that can be pretty challenging with anxiety. The worst time of year to deal with anxious thoughts and feelings is during the holidays, but it seems to be the most prevalent time to deal with it too. I've discovered several ways to enjoy your holidays despite anxiety and I want to share them with you!
These are the 5 insanely helpful ways to enjoy your holidays when you have anxiety!
Tis' the season for joy, right? Everyone seems so happy, excited, and looking forward to all the decor, fall and winter scents, holiday music and lights, time with family and friends, shopping, and the comforts of the holidays! Yet, some of us find ourselves dealing with significant anxiety during this time of year. Stress and anxiety can really make it challenging to enjoy your holidays!
I used to feel all alone in the panic and pressure I felt during the holiday season. However, like most dealing with mental health issues, I was not alone in these feelings, and neither are you! Though you desperately want to enjoy your holidays, you find yourself worrying over all the little things. If you have enough time or money to buy gifts or dreading talking to a family member who has an entirely different opinion on life than you do.
What if you could enjoy the holidays despite all that pressure? I believe it's possible, and I want to share my top tips with you!
These are the Top 5 Life-Changing Tips to enjoy your holidays when you have anxiety!
Top Tips to Enjoy Your Holidays
1. Plan Everything Ahead of Time
When it comes to helping you enjoy your holidays, planning is essential!
Over the last 15 years of dealing with anxiety, I've learned a thing or two about lowering it as quickly and efficiently as possible. I am convinced that organization and planning can eliminate a great deal of stress and anxiety altogether.
To enjoy your holidays, you should be sure to schedule and plan your family gatherings, work-related parties, and holiday celebrations with friends. If you have all these dates marked down ahead of time, you will reduce the pressure of last-minute changes. Forgetting an important date and double booking will be a thing of the past, and so will your holiday anxiety!
Another form of planning is gift planning. Planning gifts for others in advance can help you buy more thoughtful and quality gifts for those you love, save up for the ones they want and leave out a lot of the stress of last-minute shopping. With anxiety, any small changes you make can cause a shift from anxiousness to clarity and peace.
Here's a holiday gift planning guide to help you get started and enjoy your holidays!
Budgeting for all your holiday needs is critical to your mental health as well! Nothing is more stressful during the holidays than overspending. Below is a beneficial article on Budgeting for the holidays that can help you understand its importance and give you some guides for getting started! I'll link it here!
2. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO
DO THINGS YOU LOVE
Often when we are getting prepared for the holidays, we get so caught up in the business of it all that we miss the moments we could have enjoyed.
We say no to that friend wanting to meet up for coffee because we've got some last-minute shopping to do. Or we can't read our kids a Christmas storybook at night because we have to get online and get that great deal on the gifts they want. It's easy to say no to the things that genuinely make us happy so that we can do the things we feel obligated to do.
To enjoy your holidays and have less anxiety:
- Do things you love that you can only do during this time of year.
- Give yourself permission to prioritize things that relieve stress and bring joy.
- Go caroling with friends, take your kids to that cookie decorating class, say yes to a slow morning full of holiday tunes and a whole pot of coffee.
Whatever you love about the holidays, take time to do more of that!
Slow down the business, get rid of the rush, and allow yourself to enjoy your holidays!
Here's a fun article to give you some ideas!
3. AVOID Things THAT TRIGGER YOU
There are always those situations, conversations, or places that really trigger anxiety, panic, or fear. To make the most of the season and enjoy your holidays, you need to avoid those things if you can.
Many of our triggers are actually much more avoidable than we realize. Choosing not to engage in conversations on particular topics isn't impossible. It's pretty simple: we decide we aren't talking politics with that one family member with whom we disagree entirely. When they bring up the topic, we either walk away or change the subject.
You can quickly determine that you won't be present at any holiday events where you experience panic or dread before attending or are overwhelmed with anxiety while there. Our fear of people will often cause us to put ourselves in a position to experience anxiety and panic. This isn't fair to your mental wellness, and your health should be considered at all times!
Panic and fear shouldn't be an excuse for isolation, but instead, be selective of your commitments!
Enjoy your holidays this year by purposely evaluating your mental health in each and every situation. Making your plans based on that.
If you deal with a more severe condition, Social Anxiety, here's a great article to give you some more in-depth advice!
4. give more than you expect to receive
Enjoying your holidays and lowering your anxiety have a lot to do with your perspective and focus. Are you constantly thinking about what you want for Christmas or ensuring that family members know "exactly" what your kids want from their list?
When you are constantly thinking of yourself or your family's needs, it can cause added pressure and stress to "get it right!" If you are continually trying to "keep up with the Joneses," you'll never feel that you have enough and will always be in panic mode for more.
One way to eliminate anxiety during the holidays is to be generous, incredibly generous. Give WAY more than you expect to receive.
What if you decided to look at your own desires a little less this holiday season and see how many needs you could help others meet? Perhaps it would shift your focus not just for the holidays but possibly all year round. After all, there is scientific evidence of generosity being linked to physical and mental health improvements!
Check out this article for more details on that!
When we give more than we expect to receive, the business and rush of the season seem to slow down, and we can enjoy it more. We become more grateful for what we have and don't feel so dissatisfied with our own lives.
5. MEDITATE ON GRATITUDE
There is so much power in having a grateful heart. If you want to enjoy your holidays, you must reflect and meditate on what you are thankful for! Anxiety can blind us to all the things right in our lives. Sadly, the voice of anxiety is much louder than the whisper of gratitude.
I used to be quite the complainer and was severely displeased for most of my life. Years ago, an idea was given to me to find 3 things to be grateful for each day and write them down. I started that several years ago and haven't ever stopped.
For me, gratitude has been one of the primary significant factors to lowering anxiety in my life, not just during the holidays but all year!
As we reflect on all of our blessings, all the things that God has blessed us with, and everyone in our lives that we adore and love, we will find the pressure of the holidays becoming less and less. Suddenly buying gifts becomes exciting, because we get to bless those we love. All the hard work of wrapping gifts becomes rewarding as we see the smiles on their faces as they see how much thought we put into each one.
The benefits of gratitude are endless. I have written an article on Being Thankful that you can check out below!
In addition to that, I want to give you a challenge, a holiday gratitude challenge! Attached is a printable for you to use as a guide this holiday season to begin your journey of being grateful!
With these tools, you are sure to feel the pressure of the holidays lift, anxiety lower, and enjoy your holidays!
Lastly, here's another excellent article on why you should practice INTENTIONAL gratitude this holiday season!
If you are anything like me and you feel intense pressure during the holidays. In that position, there is freedom in taking steps to intentionally lower anxiety. It's easy for us to endure the anxiousness of the season with the excuse that it's normal. Still, if you can take the proper steps to enjoy your holidays, you will finally experience a true gift of peace and joy despite anxiety!
This article was all about the Top 5 Tips to enjoy your holidays even if you have anxiety!
Saying Goodbye to Anxious,
Kristina G.
