How Can You Manage
Holiday Anxiety

The holidays can be stressful, even if you really enjoy them. If anxiety is something you experience often, the holidays can make your symptoms even more intense. Experiencing anxiety during the holiday season is not abnormal, however, it is not something you just have to grin and bear. There are ways to effectively cope with holiday and anxiety and even find ways to decrease it. Finding a therapist that is right for you can also help!

Why Are The Holidays So Stressful?

Many of us wonder why a time that is thought to bring so much joy can also bring so much anxiety. Unfortunately, this belief alone can contribute to you feeling anxious. If you tell yourself you “should” feel relaxed and joyful it will not help with your anxiety, it will actually add a layer of guilt and/or shame to already feeling on edge.

The way we talk to ourselves plays a huge role in how we feel. If you are feeling anxious and you tell yourself you “should” feel happy it will inevitably lead you to other unhealthy and unhelpful thoughts like “what’s wrong with me?”, “why can’t I just enjoy myself?”, “just calm down!”. While these thoughts may come naturally, they aren’t helpful or healthy.

Unrealistic expectations can also add to the stress and anxiety of the holidays. The above is a great example of an unrealistic expectation; “I should feel…..”. We feel how we feel, oftentimes when we tell ourselves we should feel something it is leading into unrealistic expectations for our feelings. Be on the lookout for unrealistic expectations you have for yourself, others and even the world around you. This can add to holiday stress.

Obligations are another big contributing factor to holiday anxiety. December only has 31 days yet we try to cram six months worth of activities in. If you are overextending yourself this holiday season you are bound to feel anxious and on edge.

The holidays add so much more to our already overflowing plates of responsibility. According to Harvard Medical School this can put our brain’s prefrontal cortex into overdrive which can decrease memory and even halt production of new brain cells! If you feel that the holidays are impacting your mental and physical health you deserve support.

What Can Anxiety Look Like During the Holidays?

There are a number of anxiety disorders, though Generalized Anxiety is one of the more common. Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder can include:

  • Excessive worry
  • Difficulty controlling said worry
  • Feeling on edge
  • Irritability
  • Difficulty relaxing
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Sleep disturbance
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle tension
  • Racing thoughts
  • Fearing the worst may happen

These are just some symptoms of anxiety. If you are feeling overwhelmed and chronically on edge during the holidays, or any other time of the year, it is worth paying attention to. While anxiety can be overwhelming, it is treatable. Counseling can help.

Anxiety during the holidays, or truly any time of the year, can look a lot like avoidance or withdrawal from those around you. If you are spreading yourself too thin or feeling anxious if it makes sense you’d want to take a break or avoid things that create anxiety. You may struggle to sleep, staying up worrying about all you need to get done. You may find yourself snapping or being short with those closest to you because you are feeling irritable. You may feel so overwhelmed you can’t decide what you want to do or focus on tasks that need to be completed. You may feel sore and exhausted.

Counseling, Medication Management and Anxiety

Therapy and psychiatric medication management are powerful interventions that can help treat symptoms of anxiety. You may find that you experience anxiety intermittently and the holidays impact your symptoms. You may experience anxiety often and the holidays are particularly challenging or make you stand up and take note. Regardless of what is causing your holiday stress and anxiety, counseling can help.

Counseling can help you explore what is triggering symptoms of anxiety and learn skills to combat worry. You can change the way you think and feel with effective Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) skills. There are other effective approaches as well that a trained licensed therapist can help you explore.

Medication management can address the biological aspects of your symptoms and help you to find relief. Many find that combining psychotropic medications with therapy leads to better results.

Carolina Counseling Services in Pittsboro contracts with effective therapists and psychiatric professionals. who can help you tackle your anxiety and begin to enjoy the holidays again. Don’t wait for things to feel unmanageable, therapy can help!

Jaime Johnson Fitzpatrick LCMHCS, LCAS is one of the Owners and Vice Presidents of Carolina Counseling Services. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in the State of North Carolina as well as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in State of New York. Jaime is also certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and utilizes various other approaches in her practice.