Seasonal Stress Sources & How to Restore Your Joy

While the holiday season is meant to be a time of happiness, joy, and celebration, it can also be a time of anxiety. Several sources of anxiety tend to rear their heads around the holiday season, but some are more common than others.

Unfortunately, these sources can make celebrations difficult. Understanding what they are and learning how to find joy again can make a positive difference in your holiday season. More importantly, you’ll learn how to manage other anxiety triggers effectively throughout the year.

So, what are some common sources of anxiety during the holidays, and what can you do to experience joy despite those triggers?

Financial Worries

We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves during the holidays when it comes to spending money. It’s nearly impossible to avoid commercials, ads, and emails for “great deals” on gifts for others. Still, plenty of people are struggling to find extra cash at the end of each month, let alone have enough to spend on others.

Wanting to provide and give things to the people you care about is natural but stretching yourself too thin or feeling obligated to spend more than you’re able will cause even more anxiety.

Family Tensions

In a perfect world, we would all have Hallmark-style families and enjoy spending every second of the holiday season together.

However, that’s not always the case. Maybe there are a few family members you don’t get along with or maybe there’s a conflict that’s been ongoing for years. While you might want to get together to see certain people and to make your family happy, those conflicts can create a lot of underlying anxiety that can ruin your experience and make you miss out on the joy of spending time with people you love.

Loneliness

Many people feel incredibly lonely around the holidays. Maybe you lost a loved one recently (or even years ago), and the holiday season doesn’t feel the same. Perhaps you’ve had to move away from the people you love for work or school, and you’re struggling.

Sometimes, even if you are surrounded by people, loneliness can creep in and make you feel both anxious and depressed. If you aren’t exactly sure why you’re feeling that way, it can end up fueling your anxiety even more.

A Break in Routine

Routines provide comfort and stability. They give you something to look forward to and lean on. That’s important for everyone, but it’s especially helpful if you’re susceptible to anxiety.

The holidays tend to break up our everyday routines. There are countless parties and get-togethers, more shopping than usual, cooking, decorating, and spending more time with people and less time alone.

While those things can be fun for a while, they can disrupt your life, leaving you feeling more unsteady and anxious than usual. Anxiety thrives on the unknown, and the holidays tend to have a lot of uncertainty when it comes to what you’ll be doing and where you’ll be going.

What Can You Do?

One of the best ways to combat anxiety and find joy during the holidays is to practice self-care. Self-care doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant; you can find small ways to prioritize your well-being every day. Take a walk through the snow, write in a journal, dance with friends or cook something new. What’s important is trying your best to maintain a routine.

Focusing on setting, or maintaining, boundaries can also be helpful. You don’t have to commit to everything this season; prioritize your mental health by letting others know what you can and can’t do.

Finally, talk to someone. Having a support system throughout the holidays is important and working with a therapist can help you better understand where your anxiety is actually coming from. In therapy, there is opportunity to learn healthy, effective strategies to manage anxious symptoms throughout this season and beyond.

If you tend to struggle with anxiety throughout the holidays, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. This could be the year you reclaim your joy!