Managing your mental and spiritual health during the holidays

Taking care of our mental health is so important during the holidays. Although it is a time of joy and celebration, it can be a time of stress, depression and anxiety. Unknowingly, we set our expectations high and try to soak in all the fun and excitement these events bring. We can sometimes be greatly disappointed and afterward left with a sense of being unfulfilled.

The reality is that holidays and celebrations are the unusual and unique times we are attempting to enjoy and bask in the everyday, seemingly mundane moments of life, to enjoy and celebrate the holiday season all year round.

We must remember that our worth and value to God and the people in our lives are not all placed on making this season exceptional but on enjoying it for all its imperfections.

There is a part of the serenity prayer that says, “Taking this world, highlight the love and affection we as Jesus did, as it is not as I would have for so many people. We place a lot of pressure on these times to “get us through have it.”

We, of course, would like more money, the year,” and 2020 is quite a tough year to more gifts, more time with family get through.

I think it’s important for our mental health and those of our loved ones to try to learn to be “good enough.” We need to learn to members. We would love to have amazing relationships with our family members, friends and co-workers.

We would love for those who are gone to be returned for one more hug or walk. The reality is that we don’t have and won’t have all of those things:

• That the holidays can be a disappointment.

• When they have to be perfect.

• When we put the weight of our happiness on events and not on the relationships themselves.

This world is full of heartache and joy.

I mean that the beauty of the season is that there are two truths happening at the same time. This is a season of wonder and celebration and a season of grief and pain for many. Allow yourself this Christmas to lean into both. To enjoy the small things and acknowledge the hard things. Through being honest and open about both, you can find the freedom to enjoy and celebrate every day. When this season passes, we will be left to soak up the mundane and enjoy the little things in life instead of being left with more disappointment and failed expectations.

If this sounds hard, that’s because it is. It’s a difficult balance to find, and we cannot do it alone. We have to do this in the context of community and support. In your life, please find a pastor, religious leader, counselor or friend to walk through this season and find the miracles in the mundane. Then you will be left with the magic of the holiday season, and your emotional and mental health will be secured for the seasons to come.

Clint Davis MS, LPC, CCTP, CSAT, CCTP, EMDR provider, director of recovery for the Hub:Urban Ministries. Feel free to give us a call 318-562-6903, or visit us at www.clintdaviscounseling.com.