How to Navigate Christmas With Depression

In my last post I talked about the fear of ruining Christmas when you have a mental illness and how the pressure to have a good Christmas can be damaging to your mental health, especially when you have a mental illness. Following from that I thought it may be useful to share some of my tips on how to manage your depression at Christmas. I hope you find some of these helpful.

1.      Communicate

Communication is so important when you have a mental illness. But depression can make talking about your thoughts and feelings extremely difficult. If you have someone in your life who is aware of your depression and who has been supportive in the past, then making them aware of your worries and thoughts on your mental health and the festive period can be very helpful. Depression is a very isolating illness and it can make us feel like nobody cares about us, but the truth is a lot of the time people do care about us, but they don’t truly know or understand what we are going through. Although they may not be able to fully understand, once you let them know that you are struggling they can at least try to help. If you have a support network which you trust, Christmas is an important time to utilise it.

2.      Treat yourself without feeling guilty

      At Christmas, we often hear (and use) ‘But it’s Christmas’ as an excuse to treat ourselves without feeling as guilty as we usually would so take advantage of this and do something that you want to do even if it isn’t festive. This could be watching your favourite movie, listening to your favourite music, taking a nap or having a lie in. There is no one right way to do Christmas, you don’t have to eat chocolate if it negatively impacts your mood, you don’t have to drink alcohol if it doesn’t mix well with your medication, you don’t have to get up early if your depression has drained you of all energy. Be gentle with yourself and try not to expect too much of yourself and the holiday. Christmas is a time for caring, so try to care for yourself, be gentle with yourself and forgive yourself.

3.      Prioritise Your Participation 

Traditions are an odd concept. A lot of the time they can involve unnecessary activities that we don’t want to do because they are familiar, and we have done them several times before. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of traditions which I love and look forward to doing every year. But if there are any traditions which you don’t enjoy then I recommend abandoning them this year. If they are only adding more stress to your Christmas, then what is the point? Free yourself from the obligations you have put yourself under and instead do something you may actually enjoy.

4.      Ask for and accept help

Again, if you are feeling overwhelmed about cooking, cleaning, decorating, and buying presents then it can be a great idea to ask for some friends or family members to help. I know that depression can make socialising an extremely stressful task but if you feel like this would be helpful for you then definitely consider it. Although it can be extremely daunting, talking to others and putting yourself in social situations can help with depression so asking for help can both decrease stress and give you the opportunity to join in on some festive activities in a less intense way.

Please prioritise your mental health this Christmas, it is worth more than any tradition or familial expectation.

If you liked this post you may also like:
1. Christmas Gift Ideas For Someone With A Mental Illness
2. Mental Illness & The Fear of Ruining Christmas 
3. Are People With Depression Selfish?