Keeping Your Mental Health in Check: 5 Things It’s OK to Say “No” To This Holiday Season

By Amelia Woolard

Ahh, the holidays. It’s finally that time of year when everything is just a little merrier and brighter. From the seasonal decorations scattered around your college campus to the never-ending supply of free hot chocolate in the library, you’ve found it difficult to shake that sense of holiday merriment – despite those pesky finals you just had to overcome.

Soon enough, you’ll be in the thick of the holiday season – and while this will carry with it plenty of fun and excitement, we’d be lying if we said that your holiday break will be totally free of any stress or anxiety. In fact, it may be quite the opposite. It’s a phenomenon known as “festive stress” – and, wow, it’s a doozy! Over 60 percent of those surveyed by Healthline agreed that their stress levels are elevated during the holiday season, and when asked how they would describe their holidays, 31 percent of people call them “frantic.” (Yep, sounds about right!)

From financial stress to dietary woes and family concerns, there are a few particular stressors that you might find yourself dealing with in the final days of December and the first few weeks of January. Fortunately, your pals here at uCribs are here to save the day with special tips designed to help you keep your sanity during this extra-special – and extra-stressful – time of year. Read on to discover 5 things it’s okay to just say “no” to this holiday season.

#1: Extravagant holiday spending.

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, many of us tend to go with the idea that “bigger is better.” You know the routine: you head to the nearest shopping mall or your favorite online retailer to fill your cart with those must-have presents, before readily handing over your entire part-time paycheck in order to – hopefully – earn the title of The Best-Ever Gift Giver. The only problem? You’ve spent so much time and money to make other people’s holiday season memorable that you find yourself utterly broke and Grinch-like by the time the actual holiday rolls around.

Even if your shopping list isn’t long, the holidays are rife with pressure to hand out the best gifts you can find. And, no, you’re not alone in feeling this way – a study conducted by Bankrate found that 51 percent of respondents feel pressure to spend more than they are comfortable with on holiday gifts. But, if you ask us, playing Santa Claus is no reason to derail your mental health. Instead of giving into the pressure to spend, remember what your family most likely taught you: “it’s the thought that counts.” Trust us – your best friend won’t judge you for your handmade gift, and your parents are sure to appreciate that small gift card to their favorite coffeeshop as well.

#2: A jam-packed social calendar.

It’s no secret that the holidays are synonymous with never-ending festivities. From catching up with friends and family members to treating yourself to a couple holiday-themed plays and musicals, you can bet that your holiday season will be filled with many opportunities to celebrate this wonderful time of year. Even spending the holiday in your college town can come with a busy calendar, full of family and friend meet-ups, holiday parties and get-togethers, and more. Though little compares to merry-making during the holiday season, it can be more than a little stressful to keep up when you’ve only got so much time to spare.

Despite what your overwhelming sense of FOMO might tell you, it’s totally okay to pass on a holiday party here or a Christmas sing-a-long there. You’re human, after all, so it’s not like you have the ability to do everything – and be everywhere – at once. Besides, you’ve only got a few weeks to kick back and relax until you must get back on your A-game, ready to hustle your way through the spring semester. So, protect your energy and take care of yourself, especially if the idea of yet another walk through the park to look at holiday lights makes you feel the opposite of holly-jolly. Just because someone else’s interpretation of a great holiday season includes nonstop activity, it doesn’t mean that yours must follow suit.

#3: Social media-fueled anxiety.

Picturesque Christmas festivals in foreign lands. An Insta-worthy ski trip to Aspen. Mounds of presents spilling out from under a lavishly decorated tree. If we had to guess, we’d say that your social media feeds are filled with at least one of these common holiday images – if not all three! Though you must admit that you’re a sucker for a beautiful photo with a clever caption, you also know that social media ramps up your anxiety, especially during this time of year. Yep— when it comes to the holiday season, this trigger for your worst anxiety seems to take on a life of its own, making you feel pretty crummy by comparison.

No, you’re not imagining things – filtered photos of dream-worthy holiday celebrations really do suck the joy out of us. It’s been proven time and again that social media use is directly related to depression and anxiety. In fact, the more you use social media, the higher your chances are for developing one of these unfortunate side effects. Even if you don’t feel depressed after scrolling through that one friend’s perfectly curated grid, you may feel at least a little jealous that your holiday season doesn’t appear to stack up to theirs. Although it can be hard to break the cycle of social media comparisons, try to remind yourself that life is about more than just a feed of pretty pictures – and, now that you’re finally together for the holiday, your family deserves your unfiltered attention more than your favorite social media platform.

#4: That third helping of Christmas dinner.

A delicious spread of seasonal grub is, undoubtedly, one of the biggest perks of the holiday season. When else can you feast upon sliced ham glazed with brown sugar, a dozen different types of casserole, and a huge helping of seasonal pie – all without fear of judgement? Most of us gain an average of one pound between November and January, and you can bet that this extra weight can be attributed directly to holiday eating— and the unspoken encouragement to binge-eat just about everything on the table.

However, we’d be lying if we said that our mental health isn’t correlated to our expanding waistlines. No matter how innocuous it seems, gaining one pound every holiday season can open the doors to more unhealthy eating over the course of the year – a habit that goes hand-in-hand with depression and anxiety. That’s why it’s important to know when to call it quits on your family’s generously-sized portions. Create a plan to help you avoid overeating at the dinner table – like filling your plate with a hearty salad before diving in to the main course – and you’ll be able to enjoy these once-a-year treats without them negatively affecting your mental health.

#5: Nerve-wracking family drama.

Let’s face it: no family is perfect, no matter what time of the year it is. From the cousin, who displays zero interest in talking to anyone, to the nosy aunt who loves to ask personal questions around the dinner table, there’s probably at least one person in your family who causes you some sort of stress when you return home for the holiday. You might even be stuck in the middle of serious family drama or a petty seasonal feud that makes your trip home from college as uncomfortable as could be. No matter the situation, we can all agree that dealing with family drama around the holidays is the worst.

However, just because your family isn’t on their best behavior, it doesn’t mean that you, too, have to engage in their drama. You have personal boundaries, so stick to them! Don’t be afraid to speak up when your family is making you feel uncomfortable in any way, like if you’re finding it hard to get along while everyone unwraps gifts. All you need to do is politely excuse yourself to a calmer environment where you can re-center yourself. Despite what anyone may tell you, you are not your family, and you aren’t obligated to forego your comfort for their sake, even though they’re technically in your bloodline. Show some love to yourself when things get a little rough – your family will still be there for you when things chill out.

The holiday season is magical for many reasons, but one of those reasons isn’t the stress and anxiety they can cause when you least expect it. It is possible to reclaim your happiness and sanity, however, during the most wonderful – and most demanding – time of the year. By recognizing your stressors, like the ones listed above, and taking the necessary steps to reduce their effects, you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the season, flaws and all, without suffering a serious mental health setback. Don’t you deserve some peace-of-mind this holiday season? We surely think so—remember, just say no!

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