Living with Anxiety at Christmas

It is common to feel restless at Christmas time. You are just sitting around at home or going from family gathering to family gathering. Not only is it exhausting, and it can wear you out quite fast, it seems sometimes that you're putting your life on hold for a week or two - just for what seems like a very secular holiday.

But there's more to it than that. If you're like me and you’re always comparing yourself to others, you may find it deceivingly easy to use this time to do just that.

For example, in the case of being out of[ stable work – which has been my case for much of this year and as a result can barely make ends meet and pay your bills on time, you can easily feel quite helpless and insecure. This can make the holiday period a very isolating time for many of us who are supposed to feel like we're rewarding ourselves for a busy year - almost like giving ourselves a pat on the back for a “Job well done”.

Feeling restless is a normal part of the human condition, We always have something we want to do and things we want to get off our task list. We spend most of the year with our busy schedules.

But. once the holidays come around, it can be easy to get into a slug and feel lazy, because we feel like there's nothing to do for almost two weeks before the end of the year, except be with family, maybe have a drink (or two, if you’re so inclined), and just to generally have a good time.

But for people with anxiety, that can feel very isolating and also very exhausting at the same time So I have some coping mechanisms here that I'm going to list that can help you get through this time easier. (Keep in mind these are not all actionable items, some of them are just thoughtful reminders or concepts that you can place in your memory to think about over this period)

1. SELF CARE

It's OK to give yourself time to have a break. Think of the holiday season as a way to practice self-care. Yes, the holidays can be a way to care for your own personal and mental health in your body – and take a much-needed break before another busy year commences.

If you don’t want to spend time with your family for whatever reason – you can consider taking a nice hot bath, going on a nice evening winter walk, exploring the city and all the Christmas events going around, whatever that looks like for you. You can also reach out to talk to a friend who you haven't talked to in a long time -or even someone you talk to regularly.

It's OK to indulge in things that make you feel good.

2. REFLECT ON YOUR YEAR

Reflect on your year and set up goals for the new year. Maybe make a goal for yourself to complete something over the next year that you didn't have time to complete this year. For instance, I always like to make it a tradition to write a longer, lengthier post on social media recapping my whole year and setting up my intentions for the next year. It's something that makes me feel like I am making sense of the last 12 months and culminating it into something that is meaningful and will prepare me for what's to come Don’t forget though that it’s very important to not shame or blame yourself in any sort of way for not completing all you wanted to this past year.

3. INDULGE IN A HOBBY (IN TIMES OF BOREDOM)

Make time for things that you can't make time for during the year because you're just too damn busy. I like writing music, I like writing lyrics and I like writing melodies, and sometimes it's just fun to spend a few hours on a lazy off day over Christmas, hashing out my thoughts on paper and getting my creative juices flowing for new music I want to write. Other hobbies include baking, writing in a journal, or going on outdoor adventures with friends and family, whatever you don't have time to do during the year with your friends and family or whoever you want to deal with, Come and do it now, because he may not get a chance again for another 12 months.

4. KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR MOOD PATTERNS THROUGH CBT METHODS.

A nice technique I like to use is what is known in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a “thought record”. It’s a way to reflect on your negative thought patterns and weigh the negative and positive. Aspects of the thought, and come up with the newly realized balanced thought of the original thought. This is kind of a CBT tactic, I like doing thought records personally, but there are so many different roles in the toolbox for this kind of therapy.

Mindfulness, or working out also helped me a lot in this kind of regard, but it's also nice to know that you can also use your smartphone as a helpful tool to help with meditation through apps like Headspace, Balance or Calm.

Consider starting a thought journal through journaling apps like “Day One”, “The Five-Minute Journal”, “Reflecty” or Apple’s native journaling app simply known as “Journal” which now comes installed in all new iPhones that run iOS 17.2 or later.

The holidays can be a strange time, but if you can use this as a time to practice self-care, reflect on your year, indulge in a hobby, or check in with your mood, you can make it more fulfilling and maybe even lower your anxiety symptoms going into the new year.

With however, you choose to spend this time – I wish you all Happy Holidays with those you love most and all the best in the new year.