Posts Tagged ‘Holiday stress’

Trauma survivors are made particularly anxious by the hoopla around the holidays.

6 DBT Skills to Nurture Your Mental Health During the Holiday Rush

Lots of us get flustered during the busy holiday season.  And, if you’re already coping with a mental health challenges such as grief, depression, anxiety, PTSD or bipolar disorder, keeping up with healthy lifestyle choices will absolutely support your mental health.  When I started thinking about cooking for Thanksgiving, although I  love my family, I started to feel really irritable. I just really didn’t feel like doing all the shopping and cooking. I am involved in some writing projects and other work I’d really like to accomplish.  Ok. What should I do about these feelings of time crunch and irritability that are coming up for me?

Follow along.  Maybe these ideas will help you as well. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Be kind to yourself. Practice being non-judgmental about yourself. Be mindful of  your internal chatter; if it is negative, stop and think, Would I say this to/about a friend? And don’t say it about yourself. Counter negative thoughts with realistic reframing!  Change “I won’t get all of this done because I’m all alone!” which is multi-layered, packed with anxiety and then secondarily layered up with fears of being alone to “I can do a reasonable amount of things this holiday season.”

Mindfulness practices are skills that can be learned (Istock/awelo)