As beautiful as this time of year can be, we all know that depression and stress peak during the holiday season.
If you’re feeling blue, it’s no surprise. This season can bring up feelings of lack, of anxiety, of loneliness, or grief. Perhaps you’re single and wishing for a partner. Perhaps you are grieving a loss. Perhaps you don’t have the family support you’d like to have, and seeing the chummy images of siblings and parents and cousins gathered round the fire just brings it painfully home. Or perhaps you’re far away from your community. It’s all too common to submerge our feelings in food, and the holiday season provides us with plenty of cookies, candy and cheese balls to do so.
Rather than drowning your sorrows in caramel popcorn, try showing up for your feelings. Identify a supportive friend or family member and ask if you can do a daily check in with them for the next week. Make a commitment to yourself about how you’re going to take care of yourself. Do you vow to avoid chocolate? Will you only allow yourself one slice of pie per day? Do you think a few minutes of daily meditation would make all the difference? Each day, let your contact person know whether you’ve accomplished your goal. It’s not about doing things perfectly. It’s about being accountable. If you wind up bingeing on candy canes, but you have to be honest with someone about it, perhaps it will prompt you to look at what’s REALLY going on emotionally.
Most of all, remember to find something you enjoy about the season. Do you love the smell of Christmas trees? Creating ornaments? Taking a walk through the neighborhood to look at the holiday lights? Identify a non-food activity to indulge in. When you’re feeding your heart, you won’t be looking to food.
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