For some people, the holiday season is a wonderful and happy time. It includes family, food, and celebrations. Throw in a global pandemic and food and celebrations are gone. There are also other folks who have a very different experience. For them, the holiday season is a time of increased loneliness and isolation. It may be a reminder of challenging relationships with family and friends.

There is a real possibility that for many of us, we will experience a difficult set of emotions right now. Here are a few things to do to cope with your holiday emotions:

Engage in mindfulness: I talk about this a lot because I believe in the power of mindfulness. Mindfulness is the art/science of being in the present moment. One of my favorite forms of mindfulness is meditation - deep slow breathing. If you have not engaged in meditation before, I’d recommend starting now.

Gratitude: every Thanksgiving I have dinner with my parents and younger brother. We make a point to share what we are grateful for - how often do you think about what you are grateful for? Oprah does it every day. There is some research about the impact of gratitude - engaging in gratitude feels even more important during a particularly hard year.

Therapy: I believe in the power of therapy partly because it has been so impactful on my life. I believe in therapy during hard times, therapy for people who live with a mental illness, and therapy to talk through an issue with a neutral party. Psychology Today’s website has a fantastic filter and I have heard good things about Talk Space. PS: finding words for your emotions and expressing those has positive brain impacts.

I hope that you use the end of this year to reflect and think - what will you leave in 2020? What will you focus on in 2021?

I am sending you all love, joy and well-being this holiday season. <3