Looking after your mental health at Christmas

We’ve spent December talking about the different health issues related to Christmas and how you can avoid them. As with most medical categories, though, festive mental health is often an afterthought.

Looking after your mental health is important all year round, and we must remember that Christmas isn’t a happy time for everyone. Many people in Australia associate Christmas with grief and loss, stress, anxiety and unhappy relationships.

Family bonds tend to be strained with large gatherings and conflicts of tradition, and the focus on food can trigger disordered eating. We won’t list every reason that Christmas isn’t everyone’s favourite time of year, because we want to focus on staying healthy.

So, here are the best ways to look after your mental health at Christmas.

Get outside as much as possible 

Spending time in nature is a great way to combat overthinking and anxiety and a walk is a great bonding activity with family. If it is family that you need some time away from, going for a walk is also a great excuse to get out of the house and be alone.

If you are lucky enough to live near the ocean, swimming at this time of year is truly magical. The sea has a healing effect on the mind which is perfect for combatting all sorts of mental health illnesses and symptoms.

If you can’t get outside, opening a window for some fresh air is close enough. Wind baths have been used for centuries in alternative medicine. Try it out next time your mind needs slowing down and you can’t get out the house.

How nature heals: puts problems into perspective, improved mood with vitamin D, increases circulation, calms and destresses.

Remove your triggers 

If you already have issues with your mental health, be aware of your triggers. Whether that is certain foods, music or alcohol, remove yourself or the item. It might help to focus your energy on the factors that you can control, rather than stressing about things that can’t.

Most importantly, if certain people make you stressed, remove them. Bad vibes are not needed at Christmas, and you need to look out for yourself. It doesn’t matter if it is family members stressing you out, you can remove yourself from the situation.

As well as removing bad trigger, make sure you keep positive ones around. Check you have enough of your medication around Christmas and New Year, as it can be harder to reach your doctor.

Common triggers over Christmas include: religion, food, grief, family, parties, music and alcohol.

Meditate 

Heaps of you are going to roll your eyes at this but as a medical doctor I can 100% guarantee that it works. If you feel anxious, sad or overwhelmed, just 5 minutes (even just 1 minute!) of meditation can be as therapeutic as medication.

Meditation doesn’t have to be difficult either. Meditation means you are focusing, so just get comfortable (lie down if you like), set a timer, close your eyes and think of nothing but your breath. Make each breath long, slow and steady and keep bringing your mind back to it.

Your mind will inevitably wander, which is fine – you are human! When you notice that your attention has drifted, label the thought as a thought and go back to your breathing. No one starts levitating the first time they meditate, it takes practice.

Meditation is easy and simple, anyone can do it. Start in a comfortable position, set a timer for however long you like and inhale and exhales deeply. Notice your thoughts, label them as thoughts and get back to your breath as many times as your mind wanders.

Mental health at Christmas 

It is easy to get overwhelmed under the pressure of a ‘perfect’ Christmas, so try and learn your triggers and remove or replace them. Finding a coping mechanism that works when you feel stressed or anxious is important, and something you can work on with a doctor.

If you are struggling to cope at any time of year, talk to your doctor about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT helps you take control of your thoughts and learn to replace unhealthy coping mechanisms with healthier ones.

If you are or a loved one has a mental health emergency, learn what to do in a crisis. Christmas is a time to be there for one another, but it is even more important to look out for yourself too.

You can’t pour from an empty cup.

Felicity Thompson

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