Triggering, and stress-inducing times

Christmas is an inescapable and yearly source of stress for most people (Hairon 2008) 😥

👉 Take a moment to check in with yourself. How are you feeling about the approaching festivities? 🧐 You are not alone if Christmas is a worrying, triggering, and stress-inducing time for you as opposed to a magical and exciting experience.

Let's take a look at some of the available literature in the area of Christmas and mental health… 🔶 Christmas has been recognised as a critical life event that can cause feelings of stress, health problems, and reduced subjective well-being (Holmes and Rahe, 1967). 🔶 Higher levels of loneliness have been reported around Christmas (Velamoor et al. 1999). 🔶 A literature review has reported that individuals' general mood may worsen around Christmas (Sansone and Sansone 2011) 🔶 Christmas can be a time of financial concerns, increased stress, lack of exercise, alcohol misuse, and family conflict (Hairon 2008)

👉 What causes you stress throughout the Christmas period? Knowing that you are not alone and other people are experiencing similar concerns as you can help to provide you comfort with the knowledge what you're feeling is a universal human experience. YouGov (2021) has investigated which aspects of Christmas people in Britain find stressful. I have included the findings below. Have a look at some of the examples other people have provided and take a moment to connect with yourself. Are any of these things you find particularly stressful during the Christmas period? 🔷 Thinking about what Christmas presents to buy (46%) 🔷 How much it costs to buy Christmas presents (45%) 🔷 Having to shop for Christmas presents (44%) 🔷 The financial impact of Christmas in general (42%) 🔷 Shopping for Christmas food (29%) 🔷 Cooking Christmas dinner (24%) 🔷 Having to see certain family members (24%) 🔷 Hosting family members at your home (24%) 🔷 Wrapping Christmas presents (22%) 🔷 Putting up Christmas decorations (21%) 🔷 Travelling to see friends and/or family (21%) 🔷 Taking down Christmas decorations (19%) 🔷 Cleaning up after Christmas dinner (18%) 🔷 Dealing with unwanted presents (12%).

✍️ How can you look after your mental health during the Christmas period? Christmas is a particularly difficult time of year for many people and you may notice your mental health symptoms worsen. You can help to minimise negative feelings by taking positive action✅... ✅ Say No – If something makes you feel uncomfortable, or doesn’t align with your values, you can say no. Honour yourself and your feelings. It’s ok to say no to attending a Christmas party if you need to recharge your batteries. It’s ok to say no to cooking three different kinds of potatoes if you'd prefer to spend less time on cooking. ✅ Make time for YOU – As lovely as it can be to spend time with your family and friends, make sure you allot time for YOU. Let yourself schedule time where you solely focus on your own needs. Try not to make yourself feel guilty for spending your time this way. Prioritise you. You deserve it. ✅ Budget – Financial concerns cause significant stress for many of us during Christmas. If you set out a careful budget you can help prevent overspending and excess stress. Make sure you have budgeted for your high-priority items before buying presents. For example, your food, gas, and electricity bills, rent or mortgage payments, and council tax etc.,). It could also be a good idea to set spending limits with family and friends to reduce your stress levels. ✅ Use your mental well-being toolbox – Use the tools you’ve added to your toolbox over the past few months. Such as guided meditations, acupressure, yoga, affirmations, breathwork, and journaling. ✅ Alcohol intake – Be wary of how often/much you are drinking as alcohol can worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression. ✅ Spend time with people who value you and make you feel good. ✅ If you are overwhelmed by the workload of Christmas try and think of ways to minimise it. For example, if you are cooking dinner ask another person to be responsible for washing up. If wrapping presents is something you find stress-inducing consider using gift bags instead. If you struggle with taking the Christmas decorations down, ask if you can be responsible for putting them up instead. Try and share the workload if it’s possible, so you are not taking everything on alone. ✅ Let friends and family know the kind of activities you’d like to be included in and the kind you would find triggering. ✅ Talk to people. Sometimes you can feel alone when that isn’t the case. Reach out to your family and friends. ✅ Giving back to the community is not only great for others but it can give you a real feeling of purpose. ✅ Organise something to do after the festive period. This provides you with something to be excited about and to look forward to.

👆Kasser and Sheldon (2002) examined how different experiences and activities affect people’s stress, emotional state, and satisfaction during Christmas. The study has reported individuals who spend a lot of time with their family and engage in religious activities reported greater overall well-being. Whereas, participants who reported spending and receiving as important reported significantly lower subjective well-being scores. Those who engaged in more environmentally friendly consumption behaviours reported higher satisfaction during Christmas. If you find the present aspect of Christmas stressful, making some changes could be beneficial for you. I have detailed some of these positive consumption practices below ✍️ Positive consumption practices (Kasser and Sheldon 2002) 🎁 Buying a living tree to replant 🎁 Using organic or locally grown foods 🎁 Giving charitable donations as presents 🎁 Giving environmentally friendly presents 🎁 Giving presents you created 🎁 Giving presents of your time 🎁 Using alternatives to wrapping paper 🎁 Drawing names for gift giving (instead of giving to everyone) 🎁 Agreeing on spending budgets with family and friends

🤗 It is ok if you feel worried and stressed about Christmas approaching. Now, is the perfect time for you to start thinking about what you can do differently this year to ease this stress. Remember, you are not alone. Happio is here to help 🤗