Coping With Anxiety During the Holidays

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsNormal vs. Generalized AnxietyWhy Holidays Are So Stressful8 Tips for Handling Anxiety and Holidays

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Normal vs. Generalized Anxiety

Why Holidays Are So Stressful

8 Tips for Handling Anxiety and Holidays

Anxiety and holidays sometimes seem to go hand in hand. The holiday season (the period of time from Thanksgiving until the New Year) is supposed to be a joyous time full of celebrations with family and friends. But for many people, “the most wonderful time of year” brings nothing but holiday anxiety and stress.

Holidays are often a time of increased social demands and expectations, which also heightens the potential for tension and conflicts. Plus, some people tend to experience increased feelings of loneliness during the holidays.

While many people become overwhelmed and stressed during the holiday season, if you havegeneralized anxiety disorder(GAD), this time of year can feel downright triggering.GAD is like taking the usual holiday stress and turning it up to max levels.

At a Glance

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Understanding Generalized Anxiety

It’s natural to feel apprehensive about buying the right gifts,traveling away from home, or seeing relatives you haven’t seen in a long time. However, when that feeling of apprehension turns into sleepless nights and endless worrying, GAD may be at work.

If you’re not sure whether it is your generalized anxiety or just normal holiday worry, ask yourself this: How would a typical, rational person respond in this same situation? If the answer involves much less anxiety and worry than you are experiencing, this may signal a problem.

Normal Holiday AnxietyNormal stress related to activities, planning, and eventsSpecific, holiday-related concerns (gift giving, budget, etc.)Feeling irritated or concerned about holiday eventsSymptoms fluctuate and tend to abate once the holidays are overMild to moderate worry that doesn’t affect functioningOccasional physical symptoms like headaches or muscle tensionGeneralized Anxiety DisorderIntense worry and stress over multiple aspects of the holidaysExcessive, disproportionate worry about a range of issuesAvoiding holiday gatherings and other social eventsSymptoms are persistent and continue after the holidays are overSevere, overwhelming anxiety that affect daily functioningChronic physical complaints like nausea, stomach ache, muscle pain, and headaches

Normal stress related to activities, planning, and events

Specific, holiday-related concerns (gift giving, budget, etc.)

Feeling irritated or concerned about holiday events

Symptoms fluctuate and tend to abate once the holidays are over

Mild to moderate worry that doesn’t affect functioning

Occasional physical symptoms like headaches or muscle tension

Generalized Anxiety DisorderIntense worry and stress over multiple aspects of the holidaysExcessive, disproportionate worry about a range of issuesAvoiding holiday gatherings and other social eventsSymptoms are persistent and continue after the holidays are overSevere, overwhelming anxiety that affect daily functioningChronic physical complaints like nausea, stomach ache, muscle pain, and headaches

Intense worry and stress over multiple aspects of the holidays

Excessive, disproportionate worry about a range of issues

Avoiding holiday gatherings and other social events

Symptoms are persistent and continue after the holidays are over

Severe, overwhelming anxiety that affect daily functioning

Chronic physical complaints like nausea, stomach ache, muscle pain, and headaches

The Difference Between Normal Anxiety and GAD

Stress During the Holidays

As much as we love the holidays, they are undeniably a stressful time of year. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), almost half of all women (44%) and a third of men (31%) report increased stress around the holidays.

Often, we find ourselvesbuying giftsfor people we don’t know that well, traveling to see people we don’t like that much, and just generally doing things in a compressed manner—it feels like we need to pack in as much as we can. If you have GAD, that feeling can be multiplied.Copingcan sometimes feel nearly impossible.

A bigger problem emerges when your expectations of this time of year don’t match reality. This can lead to feelings ofdepressionor more anxiety, as you don’t “measure up” to your imagined ideal.

Below are some practical steps you can take to dial down your stress and anxiety leading up to and including the holidays.

Keep It Simple

It’s not a contest to see how lavish a gift you can buy or how extravagant of a meal you can cook. Eliminate as many details as you can so that you have less to worry about. Plan a potluck instead of cooking a whole meal yourself. Buy gift cards for everyone on your holiday gift list.

Get comfortable with the idea that you don’t have to do everything.

Prioritize Your Health

This time of year, it’s easy to forget about your needs and let your health slide. But taking care of yourself reduces your anxiety and improves your overall well-being. Make sure you are eating healthy foods, stayingphysically active, and getting enough sleep. And think twice aboutoverindulging in alcohol—it may actually worsen your anxiety symptoms.

Schedule Worry Time

Don’t worry all day, every day. It’s a recipe for feeling burnt out. Instead, schedule a dedicated time once a day to do nothing but worry for a few minutes. Write down worries as they come to you throughout the day and then address them during that specific time. Come up with reasonable solutions and write those down, too.

How to Stop Worrying

Make Time for You

Schedule time in your day to relax. Even 15 minutes alone can give you the energy you need to handle everything that comes your way.

Relaxation exercises such asyogaormeditationare often a big help. You can also find a quiet space to sip chamomile tea andburn a scented candle. You can even use your downtime tojournalor read a book. It’s up to you; just choose something that relaxes your body and calms your mind.

Plan Ahead

Identify youranxiety triggers, and do what you can to plan ahead to avoid them. If you’re worried about spending too much money, put together a budget as soon as you can. Similarly, if holiday shopping stresses you out, try to get it over with as soon as possible. If social situations make you uncomfortable, see if any of your friends are attending the same event.

The more time you have to prepare for upcoming events, the less overwhelmed and anxious you’ll be.

Simple things like rechecking the departure and arrival times of your flights a few days before your trip can go a long way in easing your travel anxiety.

Just Say ‘No’

It’s okay tosay “no” to things that aren’t your scene. But what if you’ve been invited to something that you absolutely have to attend? Stay long enough for people to remember you were there, and then leave. There’s no rule saying you have to stay all night. Let the relatives who like to party continue into the night.

The key is to be polite but firm. You might say, “I appreciate the invite, but I can’t. How about we plan a one-on-one hangout soon?”

Create an Anxiety Action Plan

18 Effective Stress Relief Strategies

Ask for Support

Remember that it’s okay to feel anxious and ask for help. If the holidays are hard for you, let your friends and family know that you might need someextra support.

Practice a secret signal with someone close to you who can help you during gatherings if you become overwhelmed. Ask for a hug, understanding, unconditional support, or whatever you need that will help. If that’s not cutting it, try reaching out to a health professional foradditional support and resources.

Takeaways

Everyone feels a bit of holiday anxiety from time to time. However, if yours is extreme and interfering with your enjoyment of the season, it might be worthwhile to speak to your doctor or mental health professional. Out-of-control anxiety can easily ruin your holiday spirit, but it is also possible to overcome it.

The 7 Best Online Anxiety Support Groups

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schneider E, Liwinski T, Imfeld L, Lang UE, Brühl AB.Who is afraid of Christmas? The effect of Christmas and Easter holidays on psychiatric hospitalizations and emergencies-Systematic review and single center experience from 2012 to 2021.Front Psychiatry. 2023;13:1049935. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1049935Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Recognizing holiday triggers of trauma.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized anxiety disorder.American Psychological Association.APA survey shows holiday stress putting women’s health at risk.Puddephatt JA, Irizar P, Jones A, Gage SH, Goodwin L.Associations of common mental disorder with alcohol use in the adult general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Addiction. 2022;117(6):1543-1572. doi:10.1111/add.15735Additional ReadingAnxiety and Depression Association of America.Find your holiday happiness: Manage anxiety and depression.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Schneider E, Liwinski T, Imfeld L, Lang UE, Brühl AB.Who is afraid of Christmas? The effect of Christmas and Easter holidays on psychiatric hospitalizations and emergencies-Systematic review and single center experience from 2012 to 2021.Front Psychiatry. 2023;13:1049935. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1049935Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Recognizing holiday triggers of trauma.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized anxiety disorder.American Psychological Association.APA survey shows holiday stress putting women’s health at risk.Puddephatt JA, Irizar P, Jones A, Gage SH, Goodwin L.Associations of common mental disorder with alcohol use in the adult general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Addiction. 2022;117(6):1543-1572. doi:10.1111/add.15735Additional ReadingAnxiety and Depression Association of America.Find your holiday happiness: Manage anxiety and depression.

Schneider E, Liwinski T, Imfeld L, Lang UE, Brühl AB.Who is afraid of Christmas? The effect of Christmas and Easter holidays on psychiatric hospitalizations and emergencies-Systematic review and single center experience from 2012 to 2021.Front Psychiatry. 2023;13:1049935. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1049935Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Recognizing holiday triggers of trauma.Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized anxiety disorder.American Psychological Association.APA survey shows holiday stress putting women’s health at risk.Puddephatt JA, Irizar P, Jones A, Gage SH, Goodwin L.Associations of common mental disorder with alcohol use in the adult general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Addiction. 2022;117(6):1543-1572. doi:10.1111/add.15735

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Recognizing holiday triggers of trauma.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Generalized anxiety disorder.

American Psychological Association.APA survey shows holiday stress putting women’s health at risk.

Puddephatt JA, Irizar P, Jones A, Gage SH, Goodwin L.Associations of common mental disorder with alcohol use in the adult general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Addiction. 2022;117(6):1543-1572. doi:10.1111/add.15735

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Find your holiday happiness: Manage anxiety and depression.

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At a Glance#

Understanding Generalized Anxiety#

Stress During the Holidays#

Keep It Simple#

Prioritize Your Health#

Schedule Worry Time#

Make Time for You#

Plan Ahead#

Just Say ‘No’#

Create an Anxiety Action Plan#

Ask for Support#

Takeaways#