Spending a Holiday Alone

Spending a Holiday Alone

The holidays are portrayed as a time for family, joy, fun, and celebration. However, not everyone can spend time with their families for various reasons. Some can’t financially afford the trek it might take to visit them. Others are isolated from their families for various reasons. LGBTQ people are sometimes kicked out of their families. Other times they might feel that they don’t belong. Families can also be unsafe for people who aren’t part of the LGBTQ community as well.

The holidays can sometimes feel isolating. The expectations and traditions of the holiday season can make this isolation even more intense.

Here are a few ways to find balance during this season.

  1. Identify your family of choice.Friends are sometimes the ones who are always there for you. They have your back and sit in your support section. Even if it’s not on the holiday itself, stay connected with them. Reach out and find times to reach out.
  2. Remember that you’re worthy of connection.Feeling isolated during the holidays can make people think that they’re unworthy. Break down this myth by reminding yourself that you’re worthy of love and connection.
  3. Make new traditions.You’ll be surprised by how many others will embrace the idea of doing something unique with you during the holidays. Make a new tradition of some kind that can also be a connective experience. It might not be on the holiday, but it could be on the day after, etc.
  4. You might not be as isolated as you think.People will often invite you to their gathering if they know you’re going to spend the holiday alone. Sometimes it can feel shameful to have nowhere to go on the holiday. Be brave, and figure out who you can share this information with.

Obviously, the holidays can be a tough time. The weather changes, the pressures increase, and this time of year can expose some of our vulnerabilities. Be kind to yourself. No one is perfect and handling this time of year. Hardships are human, no matter what time of year they occur.

Traditions can make it seem like things are supposed to happen in a certain way. When we don’t experience things in a way that lives up to these expectations, it really can take a toll on us.

This requires you to recognize your feelings and struggles. Then, you can step back and decide what you want to do about them.

Share
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Recent Posts

When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed/Activated During an Argument

When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed/Activated During an Argument Personally, and professionally, I’ve noticed that seldomly do we find ourselves able to argue without our emotions getting the best of us. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Becoming activated or flooded during a conflictual conversation with a loved one or our partner

Share

Overcoming Avoidance to Heal Your Sexual Problems

Overcoming Avoidance to Heal Your Sexual Problems One of the biggest culprits that can prevent you from making changes is avoidance. It’s easy to get all-or-nothing about how you want sex to happen. People have ideas of sex working for them, which is fine… until it isn’t. What often happens

Share

How Sex Addiction Can Affect Your Partner

How Sex Addiction Can Affect Your Partner Sex addiction can cause relationship, career, and personal issues. It is obvious that people who are dealing with out of control sexual behavior need to build a plan and support system. However, individuals and the therapy field often forgets about the consequences that

Share

Porn Addiction Information

Porn Addiction Information With the rise in popularity of the internet, behavioral addictions have become even more common. Whether it be computer games, online gambling, cybersex, or pornography, it can be difficult to understand what is going on in an individual’s body, mind, and heart. Watching pornography, meeting up with

Share
compulsivity porn usage numbing tool

When Porn is a Compulsive Numbing Tool

When Porn is a Compulsive Numbing Tool If you read about compulsive porn use, there’s a lot of information that takes the discussion about problematic porn use to the extremes: it’s either always a problem or it’s never a problem. Like most things, the answer of whether or not it’s

Share