Did you know that a quarter of people with mental health conditions feel that their mental condition has worsened during the festive season? Research evidence suggests that 17% of UK adults feel more lonely during the Christmas period. In this festive season full of busy chaos marked by social events and enjoyable activities, there is a need to focus on our mental health.
At City Psychological Services, we are devoted to providing the best psychological care, which is straightforward and accessible. We aim to deliver expert psychological support that makes a difference. The following case study explores the prevalence of loneliness during holidays.
S lives alone in the UK. Her family lives in India. She works in a multinational company. S is an outgoing person who loves to go out and hang around with other people. S from when has moved to the UK is feeling lonely as misses her family and loved ones. She often starts crying when she is alone in her room. She feels sad most of the time even at work. She remembers the good times spent with her loved ones during Christmas.
Loneliness is a state of mind when one feels alone and unwanted. In today's time as people travel for work, study, and other purposes they live away from their homes and tend to feel lonely and isolated. During this festive season in the time to come together for the celebrations, there are many people who have to stay away from their loved ones for work and other commitments and feel depressed and lonely as are not able to spend time with them.
Causes of Holiday Loneliness
Depression: People feel sad and depressed during the festive season. They feel alone and isolated as do not have a company to spend the vacation with. They feel bad as they cannot celebrate the festivals with others.
Missing family members: Many people are not able to be with their family and friends during the holidays. This is the most frequent situation in large families as in such cases it becomes difficult to catch up with everyone. People might not be able to meet their loved ones due to their work commitments or other commitments. This leads to people missing their families and feeling lonely
Seasonal affective disorder. Some people frequently go through sadness and fatigue during the winter months. These symptoms can be an indication of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which may be caused by low levels of sunlight. The body produces less melatonin , which affects mood. One may feel better if you go outdoors and seek out sunlight on brighter winter days.
How to cope with Holiday Loneliness
There are many ways to cope with climate anxiety.
Utilise Technology: If you are alone and are missing your family and loved ones use technology to stay connected with them. You can utilise calls, texting, video chats, Zoom gatherings, and photo-sharing features. You can share everything with each other and be a part of each other's special moments and celebrations.
Reach out to others who may be lonely: There may be people in your community or workplace who stay away from their loved ones who are alone during the festive season. Connect with them. You can make plans for outings during the holidays. Volunteering is a good way to refresh your mind and contribute to a noble cause.
Focus on maintaining healthy habits: Attempt to follow a balanced diet. Monitor the intake of alcohol. Engage is any form of physical activity. This would help to enhance your mood.
Minimise social media exposure: Avoid comparing your holiday plans with those of others online. Often seeing other peoples fun filled activities posted online during the holidays can lead to feelings of distress. It's okay to take a break from social media for a while.
Therapeutic Modalities to cope with Climate Anxiety
The significant treatment methodology that can be utilised to manage the symptoms of Holi is talking therapies. They are found to be helpful in the long run and can be conducted at an individual and group level. There are many kinds of talking therapies. A type of talking therapy that is employed by us to treat anxiety is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is the most prevalent talk therapy. It is an effective tool to
address emotional problems. It can be done one-on-one or in a group. There are four key
stages of CBT. The first stage is identifying disturbing situations wherein decisions are
taken on the goals that need to be attained. The second step is fostering awareness of
thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about the problem.
The third step is recognizing the negative thinking, and focus is established on the
behavioral response to situations. The fourth step is reshaping the negative thinking
patterns. CBT is a short-term therapy ranging from 5 to 20 sessions.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for the treatment of climate anxiety aims to challenge the negative beliefs of people about the climate crisis by the proof of evidence. It involves bringing a shift in perspective about the situation.
We at City Psychological Services located at the heart of London provide consultation for the treatment of Holiday Loneliness . We are committed to providing exceptional psychological care and exact support precisely when you need it.
#mentalhealthsupport #mentalhealthawareness#CBT#citypsychologicalservices
Comments