Holiday Season #SelfCare

The holiday season is here, and it can be a wonderful time of the year IF you have a wonderful “Hallmark Movie” type of family. There could be families out there like that. Just because I don’t know any of them doesn’t mean that this is not a real thing.

There are lots of people that get super excited about the thought of holidays for a variety of reasons. Some are excited to eat until they are comatose or “itis” set in. Some are happy to have a day off. Then some are happy to spend some time with their families while gorging themselves. If this is your life, I am very happy for you. A day off work spent eating and spending time with family is an awesome thing.

However, for some, the experience does not give them warm feelings of anticipation. So, many people do not have warm family memories, or some are without their families. During these times, people are not comforted by the thoughts of the holidays. Holidays under suboptimal conditions can cause unparalleled stress to those that are forced to endure it.

I am a part of many social media groups, and I’ve noticed an increase in discussion about holiday stress. People are very torn about their feeling of obligation to attend family holiday events. They feel distressed because this obligation to attend family events is at war with their need for self-preservation.

Attending holiday events when you have a wonderful loving family can be awesome. However, when you have toxic, narcissistic, and/or problematic members of your family, that is not so awesome. In these situations, the stress leading up to the holidays can be overbearing.

If you are in counseling or need to be in counseling for issues that may involve some of the problematic family members, attending holiday events can be downright traumatic. In these situations, you have to weigh the consequences of subjecting yourself to something that could be harmful to you emotionally and psychologically.

Ultimately you must put yourself, your mental and emotional well being above all if you feel as if subjecting yourself to holiday events is not within your best interest.

I am personally looking forward to this holiday, that’s because I will NOT be subjecting myself to a stressful situation. I will instead be surrounded by love. Surrounding myself with love every day is my form of self-care for this holiday and all holidays moving forward.