Centering Thought: Any holiday can be stressful for a variety of reasons that I may or may not fully understand. I can use tools to examine my personal thoughts and feelings around the present holiday, like journaling, The BMT Index™ or talking to a trusted friend. The more aware I am of my own complex feelings, the more choices I give myself permission to make about how I spend my holiday time.
Whatever the time of year, the holidays can be stressful. Even if we absolutely love the holiday we are celebrating, we can have some measure of stress surrounding the celebrations——even subconsciously.
From the commonly-associated stressors of planning, socializing, financial spending and eating or fasting to the less-spoken strains of grieving losses and lamenting social pressures, even the shortest of holidays can be chock-full of emotional land mines. When we push ourselves to fulfill the social expectations of holiday rituals without giving ourselves time, space or privacy for our often complicated feelings about such traditions, we can set ourselves up for more strain.
Winter holidays can bring more stress additionally if we struggle with the loss of sunlight. Grief and loss are also often more pronounced in the darker times of year, which can complicate the idea of ‘celebrating’ even more.
Understanding how and why we feel the complex ways we do about whichever holidays we are presently celebrating (or avoiding) can be complicated in and of itself, especially if we have never consciously considered these feelings. To get more understanding——and ultimately gain some greater sense of peace and acceptance around our own relationship with each holiday——we can find ways to consciously explore our feelings. Journaling; audio recording our thoughts; talking to a trusted friend, therapist or other health professional/mentor; even doing quick self-assessments like The BMT Index™ are all ways we can gain more personal insight.