Jingle Blues: Unpacking the Factors Behind Holiday Mental Health Decline

While Christmas and the holiday season is often associated with joy, celebration, and togetherness, it can also be a challenging time for many individuals who struggle with mental health conditions. In this article I’d like to outline several factors that contribute to the difficulties that many may face during the holiday season, regardless of your mental health!

• Increased Expectations:

• Societal pressures to participate in joyful celebrations can lead to heightened expectations. The pressure to meet these expectations often contribute to stress, anxiety and sometimes inadequacy.

• Financial Stress:

• The expectations of gift-giving and festivities often cause financial strain on families, especially parents. Families often over extend their credit to make sure their children have “the best of the holiday season”. Financial stress can be a significant source of anxiety and stress and often impacts overall mental well-being.

• Family Dynamics:

• Unlike Hallmark movies, spending time with family is not always joyful and can be challenging due to strained relationships, unresolved conflicts or the absence of loved ones. Family gatherings can bring up many emotions such as sadness, worry, frustration and even anger.

• Isolation and Loneliness:

• Not everyone has a supportive circle , friends or close family to spend the holidays with. This can bring on feelings of isolation and loneliness and can exacerbate feelings of solitude.

• Grief and Loss:

• For individuals who have experienced loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship, or even a pet, the holidays can be a reminder of their absence and increase sadness or repeating the grieving process.Coping with grief during a time that emphasizes family and connection can be particularly challenging.

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):

• Some people experience a form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder during the winter months when there is less natural sunlight. The combination of reduced sunlight, colder weather, and holiday-related stressors can contribute to mental health challenges.

• Social Comparison:

• Social media has been known to increase stress during the holiday season in comparison to others as a way of considering the “norm” in the way each celebrates the season. This often leads to feelings of inadequacy, dissatisfaction and more.

• Overcommitment and Burnout:

• The holiday season often involves a flurry of activities, parties, and responsibilities. We often want to be “people pleasers” and overcommit to these extra festivities during the holiday season. Overcommitment can lead to burnout, exhaustion, and a negative impact on our mental health.

• Unrealistic Ideals:

• Media platforms can create unrealistic ideals such as the “perfect holiday” or “connection with family and friends” and much more.
  Families or individuals may feel pressure to achieve or attain an unrealistic sense of perfection in the season that often leads to disappointment, stress and mental health decline.

What’s most important is to recognize that everyone experiences the holiday season and traditions differently and what may appear as a joyful time for some may be a challenging time for others. For those that may be impacted more by the social pressure or expectations of the holiday season I recommend you focus on:

1. Practicing self-care

2. Set realistic goals and expectations

3. Reach out and seek support when needed

4. Prioritize your mental wellness 

If you are struggling with some of these elements during the holiday season, first know that you are not alone and that there is help and support available. Make the holiday season work for you and for your mental health. Media and commercialization can add unwanted stress or expectations. I highly encourage you to make the holidays based on your values and what you ultimately can manage or handle wherever you are in your mental health. If you are overwhelmed, finding it hard to keep up or even not feeling the holiday “joy”, please reach out to your local therapists or support systems and put your mental health first.

We offer a FREE 15 minute consultation if you would like additional support during this challenging season. Click here to schedule your FREE consultation.

Happy Holidays? 5 Ways to Maintain Optimum Mental Wellness During The Holidays

Happy Holidays!? Or is it? December has arrived, “Tis the season to be jolly?”. This is a time of the year we will be bombarded with messages of “joy, spirit, and much more, but it is also a time of the season when many people experience the complete opposite such as loneliness, depression, anxiety and more…

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 64% of people reported being affected by holiday depression. loneliness, stress, anxiety, and depression to name a few, are a reality for many during this holiday season. If you or any of your loved ones are experiencing these emotions, you are not alone. Here are 5 ideas we would like to share with you to help you survive and make the best of the upcoming holidays.

1. Music can be a distraction, why not learn how to play an instrument?

According to a study by Spotify, after playing a musical instrument, 89% of adults experienced increased feelings of happiness and relaxation. A third of participants noted that playing an instrument gave them a sense of purpose, confidence, and self-worth. If you are interested in learning an instrument, having a teacher will also provide an opportunity to make social and musical connections with another person who is there to support you! In this day and age, it is also common to learn an instrument through Youtube or other programs, (my nephew learned how to play guitar throughout the pandemic on YouTube).

Here are 4 recommendations if you would like to learn how to play a new instrument:  

1. Try Take Lessons: Take lessons offers free live group lessons as well as 1:1 lessons that start at $1 an hour! 

2. Try MasterClass: This program offers courses that are led by well-known instructors and even celebrities from all spectrums of the musical world. 

3. Try Skillshare: Skillshare has over 27,000 classes available (including 2,000 free ones), it is a huge resource for online education almost anything, but is very ideal for learning about music or a musical instrument! 

4. Try Udemy: Udemy is an enormous platform with a wide variety of subjects to learn about. If there’s an instrument you’re eager to play, even a less common one, it’s most likely here! Each course is designed and presented by an industry professional. Lessons start from $11.99.

2. Volunteering for a service program

In the documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me , Dr. Vivek Murphy discusses the concept of loneliness and how to take steps to support loneliness. He notes that what truly matters is the quality of connections we have with one another.  In situations where we feel like we cannot be ourselves, it tends to disconnect us and distance ourselves from others which can lead to feelings of loneliness and/or isolation. In his research, Dr. Murphy emphasized how important it is to be of service to others. Service is one of the most powerful antidotes to loneliness and/or depression. Dr. Vivek Murphy concludes, “We reaffirm to ourselves that we have value to bring to the world”. 

 5 volunteer organizations we suggest:

1. Meals on Wheels: Meals on Wheels is an organization that works to better the mental, emotional, health, and economic well-being of Americans in need, especially seniors. They constantly work towards their vision of ensuring that every American senior can enjoy a nourished life with freedom and dignity. Their mission is to make efforts to stop anyone going hungry or feeling lonely.

2. Insight Heart Foundation: Insight Heart Foundation is an organization providing essentials to vulnerable adults and children within low-income communities in Canada. They work to provide clothes to people who are homeless, school supplies for children, provide transportation for seniors, and much more. 

3. ClimateScience: Climate Science is a UK-based organization driven by volunteers from all around the world! It is a place for people to learn about realistic solutions to climate change and resources to work together and contribute to our environment effectively! 

4. Resource of 25 NGOs in Asia: Interested in contributing to communities in Asia? This website has a fantastic list of non-profit organizations to volunteer or donate to that include a variety of countries and needs

5. Peace Corps: A U.S. government program that provides volunteer opportunities to over 60 countries all over the world in continents such as Africa, Europe and Asia!! It does not charge people to volunteer, and provides meaningful work to support developing communities.

3. Tap Into Your Creativity

Being alone can be an opportunity for us to tap into our creativity! According to Shrein Bahrami, therapist and author of The Loneliness Companion, “being alone allows more freedom to choose to make time and space for a creative activity without external pressures. If we allow ourselves to connect to our emotions, we can choose to feel and express them safely through a  creative outlet which can be healing and meaningful. 

Here are 4 creative outlets: 

1. Write a song: The idea of writing a song may be intimidating, but the process of writing a song can be exhilarating and fulfilling!  . This link will give you easy steps to write your own song to express how you are feeling (even if you do not have much musical experience). 

2. Make a painting/drawing: Drawing or painting can be a great positive distraction.  This link provides tips on how to start drawing or painting even as a beginner.

3. Write a story: Not only can we write about how we’re feeling, but we also can write an alternate reality that reflects how we feel or how we want to feel. This link provides many tips to start writing your own authentic story!

4. Write a poem: Don’t want to commit to writing a long story? Try writing a short poem! You can even try challenging yourself to make a poetry journal. Creating a poetry journal could keep you accountable to constantly create something, while also giving you a way to reflect on how you once were and how far you’ve grown. This link guides you through starting to write your feelings and thoughts into a personal piece of poetry. 

Keep in mind that when tapping into our creative outlets, aiming for perfection is not the main goal. The key goal is to process how you are feeling and turn it into something you can hear, feel, see, or touch. Through this we provide a sense of accomplishment and value in our lives.

4.  Move and Dance!

It has been proven that moving reduces stress, boosts self-esteem, relieves feelings of depression, and so much more. (Bruce, Debra 2022) When we exercise, our body releases chemicals known as endorphins which trigger positive feelings in the body! (I love to crank my favorite songs and dance in the kitchen or in the shower).

Here are 4 movement and dance exercises: 

1. Plan a thematic walk:  Walking during the cold weather can be tedious and depending where you are located can be dangerous. Depending on where you are located, adjust the setting, and try to go out for a little walk to let your mind and body reset. This link will provide some ideas on how to make your walk a little more exciting.

2. Dance to a Video: An in-person dance movement class can be so fun  but sometimes it’s hard to find one! This web resource provides  a 30 minute “all-level” cardio dance workout! Get those endorphins pumping and enjoy moving and dancing to upbeat music! “Mewsic Moves”!

3. Stretch: Stretching is important for our minds and bodies. It helps improve flexibility which supports our physical performance in other daily physical activities. Stretching also brings our thoughts to the present moment which can be very beneficial to our mental health. This video offers support to individuals of all levels and ages to start stretching our bodies which overall impacts our mental wellness. 

4. Hiking: Hiking is an excellent form of exercise that connects ourselves back to nature. Not only can we gain the feel-good endorphins from moving, but we also  can gain perspective on how there is so much beautiful life around us. Hiking also has benefits for our heart, balance, and allows us to disconnect from all the outside noise. This link organizes trails for you whether you’re a beginner or an expert.

Not only do we encourage you to move, but music is proven to help motivate our bodies and minds to move at a steady pace for a longer period of time. (Thaut, 2015). Click the link below to see our holiday post from last year that includes a variety of songs to add to your movement playlist! 

Holiday Stress, Mental Health and Music Therapy

5. Join a social group meaningful to you

It can be challenging to put yourself out there, but a rewarding way to  reduce the feelings of loneliness is to make an effort to connect with other people. Like Dr. Vivek Murphy said, one of the greatest elements of life is human connection. Taking the time to listen to someone and practice empathy can help us feel less alone, connected and be a positive presence for someone else. One way to connect with others is to join a club! Finding a group that has similar interests as our own can be a great start to making meaningful connections.

Here are 4 resources to various clubs:

1. Join a book club: Reading is an awesome way to learn, grow, and escape into an alternate reality. It gives us the opportunity to transform our everyday life. Taking the opportunity to talk to people about a book that you just read and enjoyed can be even more transformative! This resource is a reading program that is a worldwide digital version of a local book club. If you can’t find a book club in your community, this is a great way to connect with people from all over the world!

2. Join a singing group: Music is a wonderful way to deeply connect with people. This link takes you to an amazing group called, “The Sofa Singers”. Developed during the pandemic, this group was created with the mission to have an inclusive and supportive worldwide community that sings together online. Regular sessions take place at 7:30pm Tuesday and 11am Friday every week (GMT). Similarly, Mewsic Moves transitioned their Glee Choir for adults with neuro-divers, intellectual and developmental needs during the pandemic to an online zoom platform to help with community connection.

3. Join a gardening community: Gardening can make us feel more at peace and practice mindfulness by being present. It requires us to focus our attention on the immediate task allowing us to feel better in the moment. What’s even better is being able to do this while also having a place to share our little plant treasures with other people. Gardening can also be quite difficult if we don’t know the best way to take care of our plants. This resource link provides 10 online gardening communities! 

4. Join a music appreciation community: A feeling possibly better than listening to your favorite song is having someone who loves that song just as much as you and listening to it together! There is ample evidence of how music adds life to our communities, engages our brains, and strengthens our sense of belonging and connection with others. (Playcore, 2020). This link directs you to a variety of music appreciation groups near you.

Mewsic Moves would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you our own music-making communities, Glee Choir and Musical Minds. 

Glee Choir is our music therapy program for adults with neuro-diverse, intellectual and developmental special needs. The group is a safe space for our adults to share their love for music, while also working on a variety of goals such as building self-esteem, expressing emotions, social skills, and much more. We offer this program in person as well as via zoom to help support adults that are located in remote areas where programs may be less available.

Musical Minds is our group therapy program for individuals with Parkinson’s and/or Alzheimer’s to experience music-making together in a fun and safe environment, while also working on a variety of goals such as improving cognitive functioning, memory, self-expression, motor skills, and much more. We also like to include partners and family members into this program to continue to focus on family connection.

Lastly, we want all of you to know that you are not alone in these feelings. Mewsic Moves felt so deeply about this that we produced a video during the pandemic that focused on mental wellness and invited music therapists from all over the world to join in a musical message to let others know that whenever you are feeling lonely, anxious or depressed, and more… “You are Not Alone”

The next few months can be extremely difficult and draining for some. We want to validate that this can be a very tough time for many and we are here to help support you and hope some of these resources will help you survive this difficult time of the year. 

Peaceful and Well Wishes this Holiday Season. You are not alone. Also if you need additional support we offer a FREE 30 minute consultation and offer counseling sessions to work on strategies to make it through the holiday season.

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