With the holiday season fast approaching, people who have often spent the recent holidays alone might be fearing how the coming weeks and months might negatively impact their mental health. But while being alone on the holidays isn’t something that some people would choose, you can find a way to make your holiday season feel less lonely, even if you don’t have plans to see friends or family this year.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for your mental health that will help you to feel less lonely this holiday season.
Find A Way To Reel In Your Expectations
While you might know that you likely won’t be seeing loved ones over the holidays and that you’ll be spending this time by yourself, allowing yourself to hope too much that things actually will be different can be dangerous ground. Although there’s always a chance that someone will invite you to join them over the holidays so that you can celebrate together, if you come to expect this without trying to make it happen yourself, you might find yourself being very disappointed if it doesn’t happen. And if this is the case, you might make your feelings of loneliness even worse.
To keep this from happening to you, try to manage your expectations of the holidays that you’ll be on your own. Make a plan for what you’ll do during the day, what foods you’ll eat, and who you might reach out to so that you feel less alone.
Find Ways To Be Around People
If you’re feeling like you don’t want to be all by yourself on the holidays, there are ways that you can be around people without actually planning to share the holidays together.
One of the best ways to do this is to go to a public place where you know people will be. If there’s a holiday market or event that you know will be taking place, consider planning to attend as well. Even if you’re not meeting anyone there, being around other people can help you to feel like you’re a part of each other’s holiday celebrations.
Find Ways To Give Back
Sometimes, finding a way to help others feel better on the holidays is the best way to help you feel better as well. And because there are so many other people who feel alone on the holidays, like those living in assisted living facilities or other underserved communities, you may want to volunteer there as a way to give back. Doing something like this can help you think beyond yourself and bring joy into the lives of others.
If you’re worried about feeling lonely this holiday season, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you find healthy ways to cope with this.
Originally posted on October 19, 2022 @ 12:17 pm