12/04/2025
It's that time of year again! How can you focus on your mental wellness for the holiday season?
ENJOYING THE HOLIDAYS with the spirit of mental wellness
Thoughts by David Karan, MA, LPCC, Clinic Director at Oak Ridge Center
The start of the holiday season can mean the arrival of increased energy and anticipation, more social and family events as well as traditions and experiences reserved just for this time of year. We start to plan out our holiday schedule with the optimism and strategic precision to ensure we can meet each holiday obligation, social engagement and festive happening because this is our tradition. My hope is to provide five ideas for your consideration to help maintain the mental wellness you work so hard to have throughout the year.
Here are the five ideas for your holiday season:
• Healthy Expectations and Limits- If we are able to set realistic expectations about our time, energy and focus then we will notice a greater sense of calm and enjoyment of our holiday endeavors.
• Be Present, Stay in the Moment- Take a moment as you engage in all the holiday happenings to notice your feelings of joy, love or connectedness. We need to focus in and soak up the positive parts given our hard work, these moments can sometimes pass us by quickly.
• Create Space- Be sure to create space to maintain parts of your routine that are effective throughout the rest of the year for your mental wellness. This may mean creating time for adequate sleep, exercise, healthy eating or space to just be without a demand and need to be productive.
• Acceptance- There is a reality to the holiday season; this reality is parts will be difficult. Let that be ok and let it go. We use acceptance of our reality to reserve our energy to respond when these occur.
• Meaning- In our busy lives, we often work hard to attend the gatherings of family and friends and whole heartedly notice the stress of this holiday obstacle course. The meaning may be a bit different for each of us, we want to acknowledge the purpose behind all of our action. There is meaning and purpose in our effort to enjoy the holiday season with family and friends.
If you are starting or have been feeling stressed in your life, please reach out to us at Oak Ridge Center. We have a group of highly trained providers that can assist with anxiety, depression, relationship issues and trauma. We offer psychiatric medication management and therapy to meet the mental wellness goals of our clients. We do our best to ensure the first step through our clinic doors are met with compassion, understanding and care. Be well this holiday season!
