It may well be the most wonderful time of the year but it can also be hard and stressful and overwhelming. So it’s really important to take some time to take care of your mental health at Christmas.
If you know that this time of year can be tough at times for you, here are 10 things you can do to be kind to yourself and look after your mental health and wellbeing.
1. Lower your expectations
I honestly think this is one of the best things we can all do to protect our mental health and wellbeing at Christmas.
It’s all too easy to put pressure on ourselves to have the best Christmas ever. To make things perfect and magical for our children. To create Instagram-worthy moments of festive bliss.
Try your best instead to take the pressure off and lower your expectations. Those moments of magic will come from the unlikeliest of places.
2. Take time for yourself
If your diary for December is filling up fast with festive plans, then add a few appointments in there just for you.
Plan some time out where you can just relax and watch a film, read a book, go for a walk, whatever it is that helps you unwind and regroup a bit.
3. Remember it’s just a day
We build Christmas up to being this incredibly important day but, really, it is just a day.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if you end up eating sausages instead of turkey, or if you all spend the day in your pyjamas because you’re under the weather.
It’s just one day.
If it is a particularly tough day for you to get through though, try to make plans for nice things to do after Christmas and into the new year, so you have things to look forward to.
4. Go for a walk in nature
I feel like I say this all the time, but there are so many benefits to getting outside and spending time in nature.
Just half an hour walking in the park or the woods can help you feel calmer when things feel a bit too much.
5. Enjoy the little things
Pay attention to all the little things that make Christmas special to you, and make a bit of time to really enjoy them.
These things might include:
- Turning the big lights off and watching a film with just the tree lights on
- Sipping a gingerbread latte or hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Walking around your town and noticing all the decorations
6. Don’t overspend and put financial stress on yourself
Set yourself a firm budget for presents, festive food, and activities and make sure you stick to it.
Christmas really is just one day and while it’s lovely to treat your loved ones and yourself, it’s not worth it to start the new year in debt.
7. Talk about how you’re feeling
Don’t keep your emotions bottled up.
If you’re feeling low, sad, stressed, frustrated, depressed, or any other emotion, sit down with someone you trust and talk it through with them.
If you really feel that there’s no one around that you can talk openly with, then you can call the Samaritans at any time of the day to talk things through.
8. Stay off social media if it makes you feel bad
Social media can be a great way to keep in touch with people but it might be best to take a step back from it if you start to find it making you feel bad.
Seeing other people sharing images of their ‘perfect’ Christmas can be incredibly hard to cope with if you’re already feeling stressed or low about this time of year.
Delete the apps from your phone if you need to, and find something else to occupy your mind and your hands to stop you mindlessly scrolling. Crafts like knitting are great, or you could download the kindle app and read books on your phone instead.
9. Eat well
Make sure you eat regular meals and snacks through the day and balance the Christmas sweets and cakes with more nutritious foods to keep yourself healthy and well.
It’s also so important for our mental health to make sure we get enough good, restful sleep, so try and keep to a regular sleep schedule if you can.
Oh, and drink enough water too.
10. Help in your local community
Various psychological studies have found that a great way to feel better in ourselves, is to help other people.
So see what you can do to help out in your local community.
You could try:
- Volunteering at the local food bank
- Donating to the local food bank
- Asking neighbours if they need you to collect anything from the shops for them
- Volunteer to be a call companion to help reduce loneliness at Christmas
Hopefully these tips will help you take care of your mental health this Christmas.
Things have been tough for everyone for a while now, and I think we all need to just be kind to ourselves, take the pressure off a bit and focus on the little things that make us smile at this time of year.
For me, it’s time with my family, warm mince pies, and watching The family stone with the tree lights on.
What are the little things you love the most?
Lovely post Madeline. Excellent advice….. hope you follow it!
I do try! x