Is it bad that I am already anxious about all of the upcoming holiday parties?!?! Ugh! Most people would say that it's a blessing to get invited to so many holiday parties but it's kind of a nightmare for me. I am sure that I could opt out of them but I always force myself to go and when I do most of the time I am fine so I am not sure why I still get so anxious about them. This time of year tends to give me a lot more anxiety with the pressure of all of the gifts I have to get, family gatherings, and holiday parties. I know that it probably sounds silly but it's really overwhelming and my anxiety gets pretty bad this time of year, more so than usual. How do you all get through the holidays? Do you do anything differently?
Anxious about all of the holiday parties coming up
Posted on: Thu, 11/21/2019 - 12:08pm
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I understand that feeling because it's exactly what I am going through now. I've been dealing with anxiety and depression for about 10 years now. It comes and goes but the holidays are always especially hard for me for several reasons. I am trying to take every party and family gathering one step at a time. It's the only way that I can make it through. I also talk to my therapist a bit more to make sure that I don't suppress any emotions during a difficult time. That seems to help me a lot because it's the suppressed emotions that have gotten me in trouble in the past. When I suppress them my anxiety gets a lot worse.
Oh yes, this time of year in general is pretty stressful for me but then layer on top of that parties, family gatherings and travel and it takes it to another level. During this time I make sure that I don't run myself down because when I've done that in the past my anxiety gets unbearable. I make sure that I get plenty of sleep, eat healthy, meditate every day (sometimes twice a day). Before going to a party, I do a lot of deep breathing exercises. That always helps me get through the holiday season.
I started saying no a lot. My therapist told me that if it doesn't bring me joy not to do it. I used to torture myself by going to every party that I was invited to. Yes it's a total blessing to have people who invite you to their parties but when you have social anxiety and GAD it's overwhelming so I started to scale way back. I simply say no and only pick a select few parties that I know and feel comfortable attending. I can't torture myself any longer. It's not only attending the party but the lead up to it that's keeps me anxiety ridden. When I started to say no then the anxiety melted off and away with it.