'Tis The Season...
“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” ~Marcus Aurelius
The end of the year is near.
Take a deep breath…
How do you feel?
This time of year can bring up so many different emotions.
Comparison and Disappointment
Is your mind on overdrive? Thought after thought about 2021 goals, work deadlines, “what if’s” about 2022…
This may be common for you at the end of every year. You may experience real or imagined pressure from external sources, (e.g., work, social circle, family, etc) to prove how productive you have been all year. This pressure can lead to comparison.
The saying goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” (President Roosevelt); this time of year can increase the amount of comparison that you, or others, are doing.
During the pandemic, one trend that we noticed was that some people really pushed themselves to achieve. Some went back to school and earned new degrees; others started a new business (or multiple); some people bought their first home, or new properties. Even the milestone of getting married and/or expanding families with children may be viewed as crossing something off a list.
This is great! For those, however, that may have had similar ambitions, but for whatever reason were unable to “X” out similar goals from their Adulthood Checklists it can be a source of distress.
Maybe you’re not comparing yourself in this way, but perhaps you had some things that you really wanted to complete before 2021 ended.
If you’re currently in a mental space of being hard on yourself because another year went by and that Thing that you’ve been dreaming about still hasn’t come to fruition, consider using the prompts below:
Holiday Anxiety and Stress
This time of year can also become a huge tangle of rushing to buy gifts for all of our loved ones, scrambling to find time to visit every house and holiday party, stressing over sticking to a budget (or not) while balancing routine daily tasks, work, and finding time to just breathe.
Added to this challenge- an increased sense of urgency this holiday season; 2020 looked different. Health officials urged us to socially distance or to forgo holiday plans altogether. You, or others, may experience frustration if you are facing yet another year where you are unable to celebrate or be with loved ones in the ways that you are used to, and mean so much to you. A lot of time over the past nearly two years has been about getting back to normal or as close to it as possible, due to the pandemic.
If you’re currently in a mental space of trying to prepare for the holiday season, or just trying to regain a sense of “normal” during this time, consider using the prompts below:
Seasonal Depression
Are you someone that worries about the cold or darker months? Do you usually not feel like yourself at this time in the year?
I have something for you! Please let me know if you’d like to learn more about my resource on this topic:
I hope that you find the journaling prompts helpful!
As Always, Be Well!
~Jessica
Resources:
Text Crisis Line: Text “HELLO” to 741741
Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services) Hotline: 1-800-662-4357
Caregiver Help Desk: 1-855-227-3640