Ah Christmas, a time of joy and celebration… and did we say stress? Too often we become weighed down with the present buying, decorating, socialising, and the pressure of family time to really enjoy the day.
During the pandemic, we had the added worry of limited numbers, Covid, and – for many – sadness that Christmas was changed forever with the loss of loved ones. With the pandemic over, we can be together again, but how can Christmas 2022 be different?
‘It’s no secret that Christmas can be demanding,” says positive psychologist and founder of Beyond the Dawn Digital, Dawn Baxter (dawnbaxtercoaching.com), ‘Studies show that 26 per cent of people feel that Christmas makes their own mental health worse and 81 per cent of people find Christmas stressful. These emotions, combined with the seemingly never-ending to-do list, can make the “holiday” an endurance test.’
Clare Flaxen, a cognitive behavioural therapist and director at CF Mindset (), says to start by defining what feels pressured to you. ‘We’re all different – one person’s festive spirit will
