The core values of Christmas are beautiful; generosity, connection, love and festive cheer. however, there can be a challenging and unspoken side to the festive period that can leave you feeling anxious, depressed and overwhelmed…

The stress of Christmas prep

It can be a highly pressured time of year, the additional preparation for Christmas can be quite stressful and anxiety inducing… Finding time to put the decorations up, buying and wrapping presents, writing and sending the christmas cards, arranging additional school activities, getting the food in, cooking up a feast etc all on top of the daily routine can feel like a strain. You can end up feeling like you need a break after the holiday period, it can feel stressful no matter how much far ahead you started planning.

Anxiety around financial pressure 

Let's face it, it's an expensive time of year. It feels wonderful to be able to be generous and give gifts, but it can also leave you sick with worry wondering how you are going to pay for it all, or worse leaving you with debt. There can be a lot of fear, worry and shame around the expectation of gift giving at this time of year -  wanting to give your children what they desire or match the generosity of your relatives when actually you may be struggling financially. This problem may also exacerbate or tap into other financial anxieties.

Pressure on family dynamics 

You may love your family, or not (!) but that doesn't mean it's always easy and Christmas can remind us of that; spending longer, more intense periods of time together can put pressure on already challenging relationships. The need to socialise (particularly if you're an introvert) and maybe putting on your ‘best face’ might feel draining. Making conversation with difficult family members who don’t share your values or who you find triggering can be difficult to manage. Or you may find yourself mediating relationships, which isn’t ideal or relaxing either, but might be your reality. Any of these issues can be frustrating, provoking and tiring.

Loneliness and depression 

Christmas may be a sad or lonely time of year for you; if you have recently lost a loved one, have separated from a partner, are no longer speaking to family, are far from family and friends or are working over Christmas, to give a few examples.. Christmas may also trigger negative associations if you've experienced challenging events during that period recently or historically. The idolized cultural vision of Christmas can in and of itself highlight our own current sense of loneliness and dissatisfaction or tap into grief which can feel very painful.

Exhaustion

With all, or some of this going on for you it may feel overwhelming at points. It can become a tiring time of year even if it is rewarding! You may even end up dreading Christmas to some degree, for good reason and feeling exhausted will only add to your feelings of depression and anxiety. So try to be kind to yourself if you are struggling. 

So how can Tapping help?

Trying Tapping on what is alive for you to help you feel more spacious and grounded - either leading up to the event or even in the moment, on the day. Click the video links for guidance. You can always dash to the toilet before you think you might explode at ‘whoever your trigger person is (!)’, then tap and rant…! To help release the intensity, shift how you feel and your state of mind. It may just save the day.

Further Reading

Overwhelm, triggers and solutions for HSPs and empaths

Five challenges of motherhood as an empath

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