The festive season can be a lovely time, but for many people it can be stressful, exhausting, may trigger depression or anxiety or be a reminder of grief and loss. Click this link from Psychology Today on surviving the festive season. In addition to those tips, I would also add to be mindful of not allowing perfectionistic tendencies to take over, particularly if you know you are a people pleaser and get anxious about trying to make everybody else happy. In all likelihood, the demands of family get togethers and managing different personalities or relationships mean you won’t be able to make everyone happy anyway! Try to focus instead on keeping it simple for yourself. Try to also be kind to yourself and recognise that this time might also bring feelings of grief or sadness, especially if you have lost someone or can’t help comparing how things are now to how things maybe used to be (or an idealised idea of how you’d like them to be).
All that being said, hope you enjoy yourself whether that be with family, friends, or something else.
Lovell Psychology 