Don’t let stress steal your festive season joy

The festive season is a time to be jolly, goes the traditional narrative – but it isn’t always, thanks to stress and other mental health challenges.

COMMON MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS DURING FESTIVE SEASON

Stress, anxiety, and depression are common mental health challenges that peak over the festive season, ER24’s Trauma Support Co-Ordinator Tammy Dicks highlights.

Dicks explains how to cope when drowning in stress this festive season.

“You might have set expectations about how your family will interact with one another during gatherings, how the festive lunch will turn out, what gifts you’ll receive, and what year-end bonus you’ll get,” she says.

“With all these expectations, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment.”

Dicks

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DEALING WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF STRESS

She adds that people may have different challenges over the season: Stress, anxiety, and depression tend to spike over the holidays if you’re alone, ill, or, for any reason unable to take part in the festivities.

“It’s also common to feel overwhelmed when you’re rushed off your feet with work, household responsibilities, and trying to fit in shopping and social engagements,” she explains.

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Alcohol, drugs and the festive season

Substance use, specifically around the silly season, adds to festive stress.

“Many South Africans seem unable to celebrate anything without some alcoholic beverage,” Dicks says. The end-of-year holiday is a time to have fun and relax, but it doesn’t have to mean overindulgence and substance abuse.
“Alcohol triggers some people and lowers their inhibitions. This often leads to saying and doing things they wouldn’t normally say or do if they were sober. It tends to create scenarios such as family arguments, accidents, violence, and reckless spending that can have long-term consequences and cause further stress and anxiety,” she said.

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ER24 ADVISES ON WHAT TO DO BEFORE ATTENDING FAMILY EVENT

ER24’s Trauma Support Co-Ordinator advises that before you go to a family event, also make a mental note to avoid topics that you know are going to cause conflict.

“Perhaps you’re worried about family members who get out of hand after they’ve been drinking, or you have worries about overspending. You might feel the burden of having to keep up appearances or the pressure of entertaining family members you’ve not seen for a while. Add the stress of young children demanding attention and the endless cooking, shopping and cleaning, and it’s no wonder you might feel depleted instead of energised,” she cautions.

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