Gateway Workshop Offers Tips to Survive the Holidays

Linna Jones

Commentary Editor

Gateway Student Support Services held a workshop to give advise on how to make it through joys and emotional lows of the holiday season.

Laura Hughes, director of Counseling and Career services, presented a presentation of explanations and tips on how to beat the “holiday blues.”

The first tip to make it through the blues is being prepared and planning ahead.

Hughes gave three tips for people who are unable to be with family.

Plan ahead make a list of others you know that may be far from family
Join together with others that may be alone to share meals and celebrations
Volunteer, helping others helps you

According to the slide, “Sadness is a truly personal feeling. What makes one person sad may not affect another person.” It also explained several sources of the holiday blues.

Stress
Fatigue
Unrealistic expectations
Over-commercialization
Financial stress
The inability to be with one’s family and friends
Balancing the demands of shopping, parties, family obligations and houseguests may contribute to the feelings of being overwhelmed and increased tension
People who do not view themselves as depressed may develop stress responses such as headaches, excessive drinking, over-eating and insomnia

Hughes also explained Seasonal affective disorder and how it may cause symptoms severe enough to disrupt people’s lives and cause considerable distress. She also discussed how others might feel “post-holiday sadness” after Jan. 1. This sadness may develop from the result of built-up expectations, disappointments from the previous year and coupled with stress and fatigue.

“Sometimes we set ourselves up for failure,” Hughes said.

Several ways to cope with “post-holiday sadness” include:

Make realistic expectations for the holiday season
Set realistic goals for yourself
Pace yourself. Do not take on more responsibilities than you can handle
Make a list and prioritize the important activities This can help make holiday tasks more manageable
Be realistic with what you can and cannot do
Do not put all your energy into one day.
Live and enjoy the present
Look to the future with optimism
Don’t set yourself up for disappointment and sadness by comparing today with the good old days and the past
Find holiday activities that are free
Try something new. Celebrate the holidays in a new way
Spend time with supportive caring people
Reach out and make new friends
Make time to contact a long lost friend or relative and spread some holiday cheer
Make time for yourself

Students also learned about "empty-chair syndrome" or the pain of losing a family member or friend due to death or divorce. Several suggestions to help with this syndrome include:

Focus on the people who are here
Do something special to honor the person no longer with you, like donating in their honor
Remember the person, recall the good times you shared
Focus on the future

The workshop also discussed ways to avoid the tug of war people may feel during the holidays. Several ways to avoid the battle include setting up a schedule with your family, alternate holidays and celebrations and be flexible, but sometimes feelings are hurt.

Holidays also bring family members who may be sarcastic or critical and Jealousy, depression or fear may be one of the factors in their reasons for acting in that manner.

The presentation provided two points to remember:

Critical people usually have the problem, not the person they are criticizing
Try removing the critical tone from what was said to you, can you find any useful information?

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Gateway Workshop Offers Tips to Survive the Holidays

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