Holidays Can Be Hard When You’re Living with Mental Illness

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• Holidays Can Be Hard When You’re Living with Mental Illness
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

Holidays Can Be Hard When You’re Living with Mental Illness

The holiday season isn’t like a magical TV movie. In the real world, the holidays can be challenging, especially if you’re living with mental illness. Some aspects of the holidays that can be particularly difficult when you are facing any type of mental health challenge include:

• Dealing with unwanted advice from people you hardly know
• Feeling overwhelmed by large numbers of people at gatherings
• Confronting triggers like food, alcohol, and toxic or abusive family members
• A heightened sense of loneliness
• Increased anxiety
• The desire to isolate and, often, hating this need

Whatever you are struggling with during the holiday season, here are some ways to deal with it.

• Come up with a few brief lines ahead of time so you can respond to unwanted comments calmly and neutrally. Try something like, “Just knowing I have your support is helpful.”
• Pick and choose where you’ll go and with whom you’ll spend time.
• Give yourself permission to leave gatherings before you are overwhelmed.
• Volunteer in your community to decrease loneliness.
• Regularly practice deep breathing and mindfulness to calm anxiety and stress.
• Give yourself permission to spend time alone, and balance that with tolerable holiday festivities.

The holiday season can be rough. If you have a mental illness, know what is the most difficult for you, and take measures to minimize the challenges.

Related Articles Dealing with The Holiday Season and Mental Illness

• Holiday Mental Health Plans for Families with Mental Illness
• Seven Causes of Holiday Anxiety
• Facing Depression During the Holidays? 8 Tips To Get Through
• Holidays and Recovering from Mental Illness
• Recovering from Mental Illness During the Holidays
• Surviving the Holidays with Complex PTSD
• How I Got Through the Holidays with Schizoaffective Disorder
• Alcohol Addiction and Holiday Sobriety
• How to Enjoy Your Holiday in Binge Eating Recovery

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: Do you have helpful advice for those who are struggling with mental health issues this holiday season? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page.

From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Taking Antidepressants in Addiction Recovery
• Could Your Thyroid Cause Anxiety and Depression?
• 7 Things I Learned About Myself From a Poetry Class
• Dismissing Alters and Their Jobs in DID
• Why a Playlist of Calm Music Helps Anxiety
• Sexual Harassment on New York City Transit
• Is It Okay to Be Grateful for My Mental Illness?

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. How to Help a Depressed Friend, Family Member at the Holidays
2. Self-Harm Secrets: Having Your Self-Harm 'Outed'
3. What Appears to Be Mental Health Stigma Might Be Self-Care

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"Psychological invalidation is one of the most lethal forms of emotional abuse. It kills confidence, creativity and individuality."

Read more abuse quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook or stumbleupon) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, where you can share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

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