Anxiety & the Holiday Season
Hello! As we all know, it is the holiday season. The holidays can have a negative impact on our anxiety. How are you feeling during this year's holiday season? What are some ways that are helpful for you to cope with anxiety?
@heathermarie95 well for me. I don't have best time with Christmas as my soical anixty makes it hard to be in a conversation and feeling like I am listened or seen. I mostly take little breaks as "recharge moments" before engaging again.
@heathermarie95
The holidays makes me feel overwhelmed. I have no method of dealing with this.
I just hope that i may get lucky this year and not wake up.
@Gettingbettertoday I guess sometimes it would be nice to hibernate the winter but sleeping doesn't solve problems. Heck, not even being tired sometimes! But yeah, it socks sometimes. Hopefully ya wake up after though. And if you need help I hope you can get the support you need or even just want
I have stopped participating in presents. It really has helped. I also try to avoid any family events with alcohol involved. Keeping away from the weird expectations of the season is really making it easier for me. I made a list of things that I actually enjoy and that's all i do. For me it's baking cookies and decorating my tree. The rest is just too overwhelming. If you don't enjoy stuff just don't do it. It's wild how much more free you will feel.
@orangeTriangle4803 It sounds like you have established boundaries for yourself and are sticking to them.
Isolation and all the lack of covid precautions I see around making me choose to isolate more to protect vulnerable family. Forcing myself to call people I get along well with helps ease the stress of isolation. Going for walks helps too.
It's hard for me to deal with Xmas because my mom died on Xmas Day when I was a teenager. I spent 5 days in ICU with her and didn't have anyone else to support me. I was already living with the father of my children and things got much much worse with the abuse one she was gone! I remember coming home from the hospital to my baby and sleeping under the Xmas tree with him. Since then all the lights and stuff created for Joy triggers my PTSD.
I am definitely feeling some anxiety and grief this holiday season. To help with the anxiety, I try to stay in the present moment. Trying not to regret the past or worry about the future. I need to do grounding exercises frequently to accomplish this.
@ValidatingSoul
Hi, What kind of exercises do you do?
Trying to do the same, but I think I might be doing it incorrectly and maybe I'm just brushing things off to ignore what makes me sad.
Hope you find peace this holiday
💙
@Luna268 I use my senses, observe my body-physically and emotionally, count my breaths and use a mantra. My mantra is usually "I am here in the present" or "I am safe". For my senses, I pay attention to what I see, hear, taste, feel, and smell in my current environment. Hope that is helpful.
@ValidatingSoul
Thank you! I have never tried mantras. Will give it a try.
@Luna268
Let us know what mantra fits for you and if it is helping.
@ValidatingSoul
Have been trying something similar to yours: " I am here. In THIS moment". The present" .
I tent to ruminate a lot about the past. the past somehow always feels better. But I know I shouldn't think that way. I get distracted easily because I worry what I'm doing wrong or what I may have missed. I am never THERE, THIS moment.
I'm going through really rough patch. I don't know how to get out of it yet.
Thank you for checking back in.
this is great advive. positive affirmations are really helpful
@heathermarie95
I realize the holidays make me wish I could have done more. Makes me evaluate my life, my growth, who I am as a human and often I end up feeling empty. Like I haven't accomplished much, like I am not keeping up with life, like I am stuck in a cycle just trying to do what must be done.
Since the holidays is the only time of the year when I have most of my time off from work, I feel pressured to do all the fun stuff with my loved ones that I didn't get to do through the year.
I feel like a failure.
Sorry for being a downer. I love the holidays, but lately they have become a time to catch up with life and feeling like I cannot win.
If a listener reads this and is willing to chat with me. I would love the opportunity to talk about it. I just need someone to talk to.
@Luna268 you are not a failure. stay strong. everything will be okay
@heathermarie95
Thank you. Just tired of feeling like this. I appreciate your words.
of course! im a message away if you ever need to chat
@Luna268 I’m not an official listener on here but I’d be happy to chat if you’re looking for someone to talk to (if DMs are a thing, having trouble finding such a thing). I relate so much to everything you wrote, felt like you took the words right out of my mouth. I struggle with these same thoughts and feelings everything time around this point in the year. Wishing you all the best, you got this.
@MikeCheck88
Thank you for the offer. I had a couple of good days after that post. Then I did something stupid and ruined it. Today again, I did something that ruined the day with my partner and here I am trying to find comfort again.
I keep thinking I can handle it, that I can change and overcome some of the ways my anxiety gets me... maybe it's just the way I am. Maybe I just need to accept it. I keep evaluating myself about how I have grown from last year. And although I know I have... I keep wondering if it's enough.
I'm on edge because it's not just me that ends up affected. It's my relationship with my partner. Some of my issues bother him and trigger him. I feel like I'm fighting to be better for him and for me. But seeing how he sees me wheneverI have one of these embarrassing moments, I can't take it and I want to run away. Make everything stop.
I'm sorry I vented here. But since you offered, I didn't find anyone else who might be listening.
Hope your holidays are going better than mine. Feel free to share your thoughts here and if I can help too I will do what I can.
I haven't figured out DMs here either. I don't think they are a thing Here. But I hope my post let's other know they are not the only ones feeling like this.
I'm just tired of hurting, of crying, of feeling like I'm broken, like something is wrong with me, like I'm not enough.
Sorry for the rant.
Have a good evening.
I definitely struggle with my anxiety during the holidays - spending time with lots of family, getting stressed out by things outside of my control, etc. I try to make sure I have a quiet space I can go to in the different situations, or take a little sensory ball with me to ground me.
@charmingHouse3381 sensory items can be very helpful
Today I tested positive for Covid and have a sinus and ear infection . Had to cancel tomorrow’s flight home
.
Praying I get better and can fly after 5 days isolation .
Feeling very depressed that I’ll be alone on Xmas .
im so sorry to hear that you tested positive for covid. that is no fun especially around the holidays. if you need to talk to a listener, feel free to send me a message 😀
I’m feeling really low and lonely this season. I went through a traumatic break up in November and moved back in with parents. I feel so lost. I’m currently waiting on a weighted blanket to help simulate hugs. I’m also doing weekly therapy and going to try to do two sessions per week. I still feel like this isn’t enough for how bad I feel.
i am sorry you are going through a tough time. everything will be okay
