Holiday Self-Care for Those with Mood Disorders
Written By: Dr. Amanda Lefkowitz
The holiday season brings unique challenges for people managing mood disorders. While others anticipate celebration and connection, you might be dreading the disruption to your carefully maintained routines, the pressure of social obligations, or the intensification of symptoms. At New Path Psychiatry, we understand that holidays require intentional planning and self-care to protect your mental wellness. With the right strategies and support, you can navigate this season in a way that honors your needs.
Understanding Holiday Triggers for Mood Disorders
The holidays present multiple potential triggers for mood instability. Social pressures and expectations can feel overwhelming, whether that's attending numerous gatherings, navigating complicated family dynamics, or feeling you should be happier than you actually feel. The cultural message that everyone should be joyful can make your genuine feelings seem even more problematic.
Changes in routine and structure significantly impact mood stability. When your regular schedule gets disrupted by travel, visitors, or simply the chaos of the season, the routines that support your wellness may fall away. Sleep schedules shift, meal times become irregular, and the structure that helps you function gets lost.
Seasonal factors compound these challenges. Shorter days and reduced sunlight can trigger or worsen depressive symptoms. The combination of seasonal effects and holiday stress creates a particularly difficult period for many people with mood disorders.
Financial stress adds another layer of difficulty. Gift-giving expectations, travel costs, and the general expenses of the season can create pressure that exacerbates anxiety and impacts mood stability.
Maintaining Your Treatment Foundation
Your ongoing psychiatric treatment becomes even more important during challenging seasons. Maintaining medication consistency is crucial, even when routines are disrupted. Pack medications carefully if traveling, set reminders if your schedule changes, and ensure you have enough medication to last through the holidays without needing refills during closures.
Strategic scheduling of therapy appointments can provide essential support. Consider booking sessions before major holiday events to prepare, or scheduling them shortly after to process difficult experiences. Your therapist can help you develop specific strategies for managing anticipated challenges.
Staying connected with your treatment team provides reassurance and support. At New Path Psychiatry, our collaborative approach means your therapist and psychiatrist work together to support you through difficult periods. Don't hesitate to reach out if you notice symptoms worsening or if you need additional support navigating holiday stressors.
Managing Social Obligations
You don't have to attend every event or gathering you're invited to, and protecting your mental health through thoughtful choices about social engagement is essential. Here are key strategies for managing holiday social demands:
Setting Boundaries with Invitations
Consider which events feel manageable and which might be too overwhelming, remembering that it's okay to decline invitations or limit your participation without guilt.
Creating Exit Strategies
When you do attend gatherings, drive yourself when possible so you can leave when needed, or set a specific departure time in advance to maintain control over your experience.
Taking Strategic Breaks
Give yourself permission to step away to a quiet space during events if you're feeling overwhelmed, whether that's a bedroom, outdoor area, or even a bathroom for a few minutes of reset.
Communicating Your Needs
Tell family members clearly that you can only stay for a certain length of time, or explain that you need breaks during longer gatherings, helping them understand how to support you.
Giving Yourself Permission
Recognize that protecting your mental health isn't selfishness but necessary self-care, and that those who truly care about you will respect your limitations.
While not everyone will understand your choices, these strategies help you participate in ways that feel sustainable rather than depleting.
Protecting Your Daily Routines
Despite holiday disruptions, maintaining core routines as much as possible protects mood stability. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule is particularly important. Try to maintain your regular bedtime and wake time, even if holiday activities make this challenging. Sleep disruption can significantly impact mood, making everything else harder to manage.
Regular movement and exercise, even in modified forms, support mental wellness. If your usual workout routine isn't feasible, find ways to incorporate movement into holiday activities. A walk after a meal, stretching in the morning, or any form of physical activity helps regulate mood.
Healthy eating amid holiday indulgence requires balance rather than restriction. You don't need to avoid all special foods, but maintaining some nutritional consistency helps. Regular meals, adequate protein, and staying hydrated support both physical and mental wellbeing.
Structuring unscheduled time prevents the drift that can worsen depressive symptoms. Even simple structure like planning when you'll shower, eat meals, or take walks provides helpful framework during days that lack usual routines.
Planning for Difficult Family Dynamics
Family gatherings often involve challenging dynamics that can impact mental health. Preparing for difficult conversations or triggering situations helps you respond more effectively in the moment. Work with your therapist to develop specific strategies for the dynamics you anticipate.
Managing expectations of family members involves both setting realistic expectations for yourself and communicating boundaries to others. Family members may not understand your limitations or may minimize your mental health needs. Having practiced responses for common situations can help you maintain boundaries without lengthy explanations.
Support plans for difficult moments might include having someone you can text, taking breaks to call a friend, or identifying a quiet space where you can regroup. Knowing you have these options reduces the pressure of managing everything perfectly.
Recognizing when you need to step away completely from a situation is an important skill. Sometimes protecting your mental health means leaving early or declining attendance altogether, even if others are disappointed.
Addressing Loneliness and Isolation
For some people, holidays emphasize feelings of loneliness or isolation. If you don't have family connections or if your mental health makes socializing particularly difficult, the season can feel especially painful. These feelings are valid and deserve acknowledgment.
Creating meaningful connections doesn't require traditional holiday celebrations. You might connect with friends who also find holidays difficult, volunteer in ways that feel manageable, or reach out to others who might be isolated. Sometimes, creating your own traditions feels more authentic than forcing yourself into conventional celebrations.
Alternative ways to spend holidays can feel more nurturing than struggling through expectations that don't fit your reality. Maybe you prefer a quiet day alone with activities you enjoy, or perhaps you'd rather work and treat it like any other day. There's no right way to spend holidays.
Reaching out for support when you're struggling is crucial. Your treatment team at New Path Psychiatry wants to know if you're having difficulty, and friends or family members who understand may appreciate knowing how to help.
Managing Financial Stress
Financial pressure during holidays can significantly impact mental health. Setting realistic gift budgets based on what you can actually afford, not on perceived expectations, protects both your finances and your well-being. Remember that meaningful gifts don't require large expenditures.
Alternative gift-giving approaches like suggesting spending limits within your family, drawing names instead of buying for everyone, or giving handmade or experiential gifts can reduce financial pressure while maintaining connection.
Communicating about financial limitations can feel vulnerable, but often brings relief. Many people feel similar pressure and appreciate honest conversation about setting reasonable expectations.
Avoiding comparison with others' holiday spending or celebrations protects your mental health. Social media often presents an unrealistic picture of holiday perfection that doesn't reflect most people's actual experiences.
Building in Recovery Time
The holidays aren't a sprint through continuous events. Building in recovery time between gatherings helps you maintain functioning throughout the season. Schedule downtime intentionally, treating it as important as any social obligation.
Recognizing when you need to rest requires tuning into your body and mind. Signs you need recovery time might include increased irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, or noticing your mood symptoms intensifying.
Creating quiet spaces during gatherings can help you stay longer without becoming overwhelmed. Finding a bedroom where you can take a break, stepping outside for fresh air, or even spending time in a bathroom if needed gives you moments to reset.
Honoring your energy limits means accepting that you may not be able to do everything others can do, and that's okay. Managing a mood disorder requires different energy than many people realize. Respecting your limitations is wise self-care, not weakness.
Having a Crisis Plan
Despite your best planning, holidays can trigger crisis moments, and knowing how to respond protectively is essential. Here's how to prepare:
1. Recognize Warning Signs Early
Learn to identify signs that you're moving toward crisis, such as severe sleep disruption, persistent suicidal thoughts, inability to function in basic ways, or feeling completely unable to cope.
2. Know Your Contact List
Keep readily available the contact information for your therapist, your psychiatrist's after-hours line, crisis hotlines like 988, and trusted friends or family members who can provide support.
3. Access Emergency Resources
Remember that the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988) operates 24/7, as do many crisis services, providing help even when regular offices are closed during holidays.
4. Understand When to Reach Out
Contact your psychiatrist for any significant worsening of symptoms, concerns about medication effectiveness or side effects, or feelings of being unsafe.
5. Utilize Out-of-Network Flexibility
As an out-of-network provider, New Path Psychiatry offers more accessibility than many insurance-based practices, making it easier to get support when you need it most.
Knowing these resources and steps in advance removes barriers to accessing help during vulnerable moments.
Honoring Your Needs This Season
Holiday self-care when managing mood disorders isn't about creating a perfect season. It's about getting through in a way that protects your mental health and honors your genuine needs and limitations. The strategies you develop for managing holidays strengthen your overall resilience and self-care skills.
Remember that taking care of yourself during the holidays isn't selfish. It's necessary. Your mental health deserves protection, and that may mean making choices others don't understand. The people who truly care about you will support your needs, and those who don't may need some distance during this season.
If you're concerned about managing the holidays with a mood disorder, contact New Path Psychiatry to discuss strategies and ensure you have the support you need during this challenging time. Our collaborative approach provides the comprehensive care that helps you navigate difficult seasons while maintaining your wellness.
At New Path Psychiatry, we believe that every individual deserves a personalized journey to mental wellness. Whether you’re seeking support through medication management or exploring new avenues of care, our compassionate team is here to help. Take the first step toward finding balance and feeling like yourself again—schedule an appointment with us today.