The last post was all about how to cope with being alone for the holidays. Yet if you have the opposite, you know all too well that it can be just as stressful to spend a holiday with friends and family. It’s a challenge for the average anxiety sufferer since you often must travel out of the comfort zone of your own home and into someone else’s or at an entertainment venue. There are a few things to keep in mind when it’s time to get in touch with friends and family for the holidays.
First, you want to start early in terms of communicating with friends and family. Most of the time we rush through life at a speed that doesn’t let us really show how much our friends and family really mean to us. Set the tone by taking a few weeks before the event to reach out and make sure everything is okay with your loved ones. They’ll be in a more pleasant mood when it’s actually time to see you and this has the additional benefit of lowering their tendency to criticize or offer negative opinions.
Next, take a few symbols of home with you in your travel bag. If this is a stuffed animal or a book that you read over and over, pack it with you instead of leaving it at home. Sometimes a new place is easier to deal with when you have symbols from the place you’re most comfortable being.
Finally, break the ice when you get there by bringing a fun food dish with you. It’s very difficult for people to go out of their way to make you miserable when you’ve offered them something they like. Food has long been considered the great connector, and cooking can be a fun way to let go of some of your stress as well!
All things considered, spending time with your family and friends during a holiday is a great way to reconnect and build memories that will last a lifetime. The tips above will help you make your next holiday visit much more comfortable — try it today!
I actually can relate to this article as I have a close friend who has anxiety problems. He’s always stressed and get panic attacks.
So we arranged a holiday for him and ourselves to help him relax and take a break. Hopefully it will calm him down and.
Thanks.
These tips are great. It doesn’t look good when we go on a family get together and one person stays isolated with his books, laptop or mobile phone! One should actually be with them and participate in every big and small activity. It also irritates when somebody does not let his photographs get clicked. Criticisms would hurt big time! Heal your anxiety, live a happy life and give memorable moments to your family.
I have been out with a friend who suffered from this anxiety problem. She was on her own all the time and looked quite disinterested with us. Then all of us stopped caring about her, though later we regretted for behaving that way. I am wondering how to help her. I know that I can be of help only when she wants to help herself. She should open her doors and be more positive about life. I wonder why is she always bored and lost in her own world of thoughts!
Going out with a person from anxiety is not easy, believe me! You’ll have to be very patient and not expect anything out of him. Ignore if you find him mentally absent. And most importantly, don’t complain or say things that he may dislike. Try not to trigger a negative response. Shower your love, affection and care and slowly he’ll recover. Be patient.
Hi Dominic. Your friend may be at an advanced stage and she is unaware of not behaving normally. All you can do is be positive and genuinely good to her and pray. If you are artificially sweet to her then she would sense it in no time and withdraw. During such times people may move away from such people and want straight forwardness. Give her your attention, time and concern without expecting anything. Make sure to drop a nice good night sms expressing your concern. This would surely help.
I suffered from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder around five years ago. I disliked almost everything and didn’t enjoy the life I had. Felt others have everything and I have nothing. I wanted to be somebody else. Felt that nobody likes me. Then, I saw a movie that had a similar character and I realized i am not doing good to myself. I decided to change! I began with smiling, buying myself good clothes, thinking positive, meeting new people, watch good movies, read books and now I am a transformed person. I helped myself and it worked!
People with anxiety tend to become vulnerable and sensitive, hence those around really need to understand this and bear all that happens. It is not that easy and requires a lot of patience. In the beginning it would seem that all your efforts are going into waste and the sufferer is not responding well, but every small effort is helping him recover.
I think our natural tendencies is to be away from such people. Generally, nobody makes the effort to take care and understand. The family members would do that for sure, but not everybody. I know everybody is mostly good on the face and otherwise keep a distance, which does not help at all. Maybe we should write more on such topics and make people aware so that they learn to support.
If you have anxiety and want to go on a holiday, the best thing to do is to forget that you have any anxiety and do silly things like singing on the roads, jumping and have fun. Swim, gaze at the stars, talk with a tree, say hello to God, smile looking at the mirror, thank god for innumerable number of things and then see, your life will change!