The holiday season can be a time for peace, love, togetherness, and happiness. However, it can also be a time of stress as the pressure to buy gifts, plan events, and manage time, can be overwhelming. Those who maybe don’t have family or friends to go to during this time can also feel lonely and isolated.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association or the CMHA, nearly 52 percent of Canadians report feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation during the holiday season.
Program Director with the Weyburn Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Tasha Collins advises prioritizing your mental health during this time.
“I certainly would encourage everybody to make mental health a priority. You can shift your focus in terms of gift giving, you know focus on the giving rather than the buying. It doesn't necessarily need to focus on the amount of what that gift is but maybe personalize it and focus on giving rather than the value of what that gift might be when it comes to our mental health.”
Collins talks about how sometimes it’s wise to delegate tasks to others within your family this holiday season, as sometimes in an effort to people please you can take on too many tasks at once causing stress and anxiety. Maintaining a schedule and setting guidelines can help ensure you're not taking on too much and burning out. Collins also recommends reaching out in times of stress and taking care of yourself.
“Reaching out for support you know call CMHA or one of the other community supports to be able to find the resources that can help you move through that. We all have different things that we can do for self-care, like making sure that we stay on our routines, making sure we're getting up at the same time, maybe making sure we're getting a good sleep. Maybe it is calling a friend up, all of those things can help us improve our mood and move through a challenging time.”
Taking the time to be mindful of your mental health during the holiday season can help ensure that a usually joyous time such as the holidays can stay that way. Also, make sure to extend a helping hand to others this season as maybe others don’t have the same support system of family and friends. Collins also believes in the power of a positive mindset and looking on the bright side.
“I'm certainly a believer in mindset. Focusing on the positive, I truly believe that you know if we only focus on the negative, we're only going to see the negative. Also, focusing on the things that we can control, not those that we cannot control. All of that can be helpful when we are looking at our mental health."
For those looking for more information surrounding mental health this holiday season, reach out to the CMHA in Weyburn either by phone at 306-842-7959 or on their website at www.weyburn.cmha.ca if you or someone you know is in a crisis and needs immediate assistance, CMHA recommends either going to the nearest hospital, calling 9-1-1 or calling the Crisis Suicide Hotline at 9-8-8 or the Talk Suicide line at 1-833-456-4566. Take care this holiday season.