Don't get caught up in the pressures of a perfect Christmas
Christmas is fast approaching, everywhere we look there are colourful lights twinkling, festive wreaths on the doors and festive songs blaring in every shop.
It can be a wonderful time of the year, friends and family come together to celebrate, eat way too much food, and crack open a bottle of fizz.
It can also be a daunting time of year for those who may have lost a loved one, have to spend time with people who can be challenging to their mental health or generally find it a difficult time of year.
With last Christmas being a write off due to numerous lockdowns, it feels like this year will be a time to celebrate what was missed last year and really appreciate the time we can all spend together. But we also need to remember to stop and take a moment to look after ourselves, we can be so busy rushing from one place to another that we forget it is ok to take time out for self-care and check in with ourselves and how we are feeling. It isn’t selfish to give yourself time and rest if your body is telling you too, we can’t pour from an empty cup so it’s essential not to burn ourselves out.
The pressure to have that ‘perfect family Christmas’ is daunting and can be everywhere we turn, it’s on TV, it’s on social media and it’s in magazines, but is there such a thing as a ‘perfect or normal Christmas’. We all have our own traditions, we all have our own ideas of what the festive season should like and if it doesn’t go quite to plan, that’s ok.
It can be easy to compare ourselves to others, I think we are all guilty of this at times, we see all the great things people are posting on social media and it can spiral into negative wave of thoughts. One thing to keep in mind is that we only usually see the positive on social media, we don’t tend to see the usual worries and stresses that come with daily life.
It’s ok to set boundaries, it’s ok to not meet other expectations, it’s ok to set aside time for you and it’s ok to not be ok, friends and family are likely to care about you and will want you to have a nice Christmas time aswell.
Reach out for support and don’t be afraid to ask for help, there’s always someone who will listen.
Author's Bio
Sophie Collumbell is a regular writer for the Counsellors Café Magazine. In Sophie's words: "I don’t take life too seriously, always joking and making people laugh! Family and friends mean the world to me, and my little cat tiggs! Music is my life, I spend most time with my headphones on listening to anything and everything, I believe ‘When words fail music speaks’! I am more creative than anything, I love writing and knowing that hopefully, writing my struggles can help other people is just the best feeling ever! I cannot wait for the future so I can train to be a counsellor and hopefully help someone the way my counsellor has helped me!'
