I love the
advice from NEDIC, advising eating disorder sufferers on how to navigate the
stressful holiday season. Here are a few of their tips. I believe they work for
us all:
Predict high stress
times and places; decide which events you will and won't attend, and plan to have
some time to yourself to restore yourself and take care of your own needs.
Predict which people might make you most
uncomfortable and plan appropriate ways of excusing yourself from their
company.
Predict negative thoughts that you might
have during the holidays, and practice thinking differently.
Carry with you a list of phone numbers of
friends and crisis lines, and a list of self-soothing activities.
It may be helpful to
realize that the "picture-book" holiday sense is not a reality for
many people. Some cannot afford it, there are many single people who are not
close to their families or do not have a family, and there are many families
that do not fit into the dominant cultural model of "family." Do not
blame yourself for family or friendship conflicts. People are not different
during the holidays than any other time of the year. Remember that you are
responsible only for your own actions and for taking care of yourself.
For more info:
NEDIC Bulletin: Vol. 7, Coping With the Holidays
No comments:
Post a Comment