As you navigate the holiday season, it can be hard to maintain a joyful “holiday spirit”. Whether you have experienced a recent loss and are dealing with grief or you don’t have a circle of people around you to connect with, it is normal to experience some form of loneliness during the holidays. In fact, in a survey conducted by National Alliance on Mental Illness, 66% of respondents reported loneliness during the holiday season.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed what many holiday gatherings have looked like in the past couple years, further adding to potential isolation and loneliness. Keep reading for tips and resources from Hello4Health™ on how to reduce loneliness during the holidays:
- Sometimes simply moving forward from feeling lonely is the hardest part. Here are some ways and ideas to help you cope with loneliness during the holidays.
- Colder weather can make it harder for individuals to get out and connect with the ones they love. Check out ideas on how you can connect during the colder seasons and feel engaged with the people around you.
- Learn some tips on how to talk about loneliness with someone who may be lonely.
Navigating Family Gatherings During the Holidays
Whenever big groups of family members connect and get together for the holidays, it can come with some extra pressures and stressors that we are not used to facing in our day to day lives. Large holiday gatherings often combine people of different ages, backgrounds, beliefs, and values which can result in some form of conflict arising. This year, use these tips from Hello4Health to keep the peace at family get-togethers.
- Set expectations prior to the event. Encourage all family members and friends to avoid any topics that may create disagreements and arguments, such as politics and controversial opinions.
- Be prepared to be a peacemaker if any tension or disagreements with hostile family members arise and recruit a likeminded family member to help aid you in the peacemaking.
- Have light-hearted or funny conversation topics or games ready to pivot to in the event there is a tough conversation on the rise.
- Don’t be hard on yourself if there still are some arguments. You are not responsible for others’ actions and you can only do so much to keep the peace.
Mental well-being resources for all ages
Did you know Allina Health has mental well-being resources for people of all ages? You’re probably most familiar with Hello4Health, which focuses on social connections for adults, but Allina has two other mental well-being programs we encourage you to check out!
Health Powered Kids focuses on youth, ages 3-14, with lesson plans to help kids Be Active, Keep Clean, Find Balance and Eat Well. Examples of their well-being resources include:
- What We Can Do to Stress Less
- Learning Mindfulness Through Movement
- Self-Esteem and Body Image Activities for Kids
Change to Chill focuses on youth, ages 13-19, with resources to help teens become more aware of what stress is, what causes it and how to manage it. Examples of their well-being resources include: