Feeling Overwhelmed During the Holidays

Here we go… the holidays. It's that time of year where we can stop thinking about school and work for a brief moment and try to enjoy the holiday break with our families. It’s too bad that sometimes, it’s not always the happy-go-lucky experience we expect it to be.

Although Christmas always seems like a cheerful time of year, most of us are going back to our parents’ house, and that means not being able to have our own space, get our work done and eat on our own diet. It can make us feel overwhelmed and anxious.

These unwanted feelings are hard to acknowledge, and also hard to overcome. Even though we all have our own unique family issues, many of us face these situations every time we go home for the holidays.

So how do we deal with them?

Take Some Time for Yourself

Being back at your parents’ house can be crowded at some points. Maybe you have a room to go back to (which is a bonus), but maybe you don’t. Either way, parents can act like they did when you were in high school - wanting to know what you’re doing all the time, asking for chores to be done, expecting you to spend all your time with them, etc.

Now we’re not saying don’t spend time with them, but you also need your alone time too. It’s important to take that time to yourself to re-charge and come back feeling refreshed and ready to go.

What are some things you can do alone while being home for the holidays? Well, there are lots of things, but with the snowy weather outside you can always try going for a walk, skating, reading a book in a cozy spot in your house, or listening to a podcast.

Once you take these small breaks from family and friends and get time to yourself, you’ll have the energy to go back to spending time with others and won’t be dreading the “quality time” your parents always talk about when you’re home.

Setting Aside Time to Be Productive

As part students and part hustlers, most of us can’t take an entire two-week break to just sit around and do nothing. We’re itching to be busy with our bodies and time because that’s what we’re used to.

There are also other reasons for not wanting to fall into a lazy slump during the break. It may break your regular routine, you may lose drive, or you may simply feel guilty about not getting work done.

However, if your family is a little different from you, they may not understand these things you’re feeling. Saying things like “I need some time during the day to work on ____ because it is important to me” or “could we schedule in time to spend with each other? I have some side things I want to get done” can make a difference.

It’s okay to set boundaries with your family, as long as there is open and respectful communication. We know it’s hard (we never said it would be easy 😁), but we also know that you’re capable of doing it!

Eating Right

Even though eating healthy is really hard, we know it’s good for us. It keeps our minds clear and our bodies feeling energized, which is just what we need for our everyday tasks.

Okay, we all know that when we go home for the holidays, there is always an abundant amount of food waiting for us to eat. We don’t know about you, but we always find that our parents actually encourage us to eat all of the sweets and chocolate because it’s break time and we should “relax”. How can I relax when you’re stuffing chocolate down my throat?!?

We know they mean well, but oftentimes we go home to an eating regimen that’s completely different from our own. Maybe it’s because we don’t cook for ourselves, maybe it’s because we DO cook for ourselves but don’t have the right ingredients, or maybe it’s because there are just an abundant amount of sweets but we have no self-control 😅.

Regardless of what the reason is, eating differently than what you normally eat can be annoying and stressful. So then what is there to do?

Well, one thing you can start with is asking for specific ingredients when your parents go grocery shopping, or, better yet, actually going to the grocery store with them. This way you can somewhat eat what you normally eat when you’re living on your own.

Ask your parents to hide the chocolate! I know, it sounds silly, but hear us out. If you don’t actually see the chocolate or know where it is, you might forget about it and eat less (keyword is might*).

Knowing It Won’t Last Forever

At least we know that by the end of the break, we’re going back to our own house with our own room and food. If by the end of the break things don’t go exactly how we planned, you know you’re not staying there forever.

Spending time with your family during the holidays is a blessing, and we should be grateful for it. So even if your plans to eat healthy or take time to yourself didn’t work out, at least you had a family to go back to for the holidays, and that’s good enough. 😊

(P.S. If you don’t have a fireplace, this video = perfection 😉 )