You would think that the holidays are a joyous time for everyone. However, they can lead to stress, loneliness, and depression. Due to the pandemic, there has been a much-unexpected loss of life with family members. Likewise, not from the pandemic, but loss from the past. Traditions just don’t feel the same and become difficult times for many people. But what’s most important is to enjoy the holidays. The holidays don’t have to be special, but you can make them meaningful for yourself or someone else.

Here are some ways to help lift up your spirits, whether you are stressed or alone and how to smile to remember those who have departed.

Remember the Good Times

What is most important is to remember and cherish the good times. Don’t fall into the sadness trap. The holidays don’t have to be perfect. There is a lot of emphases created for them to be so special. However, your holiday can be as meaningful and memorable as you want it to be. For example, create new traditions. You can create new traditions for yourself if you are alone. Or, for instance, you can offer your assistance to someone who really needs help. Try to remember your past holidays and make those positive emotions today. Focus on enjoying rather than loathing.

Don’t Isolate Yourself

The problem with emotions and feelings of loneliness, sadness, and depression are they steer you into isolation and anti-social behavior. There are many things you can do to break isolation. You can volunteer your time and help people who need it. Helping someone always makes you feel good. And feeling good is the spark you need to stimulate other good and positive feelings and emotions. Look for ways to connect socially.

Get Regular Exercise

Exercise is excellent for making anyone and everyone feel great. It relieves stress, causes the anti-social to become social, and turns sadness into a smile. Thanks to endorphins. Never underestimate the power of exercise. The efficacy is more potent than many medications. If you don’t exercise or find it challenging to stick to your workout, just get out and run around or go for a walk for about 15 minutes. Research has shown that regular exercise reduces stress, loneliness, and depression significantly.

Holiday Alcohol Moderation

Everyone is drinking alcohol around the holidays. However, alcohol is a depressant. Even having one drink is sometimes not a good idea because it can lead to more. And drinking too much will intensify and exacerbate your emotions and feelings. So, try to limit your consumption. You should never drink alcohol if you are feeling emotional and sad.

Find Time for You

The holidays tend to hog up all our free time. Sometimes you want to go hide in a closet. But that is not the right thing to do. Instead, make sure you have enough time to exercise, watch TV, read a book, go to the coffee shop.

Accept and Embrace Change

People get older. Kids move away. As life changes, so do habits and holidays. It is natural. Changes are not always negative. Learn to see the glass half full and be optimistic. Optimism creates many new pathways, whereas pessimism limits them. Understand the changes and adapt to them with optimism.

Donate Your Time to Charity

You can always lend a helping hand to those who are unfortunate. Helping and volunteering are not worth any dollars but priceless value in life. Helping and volunteering will make you feel good. If you are alone, it is a great way to socialize. If you are depressed, doing something positive will reverse negativity. And if you are stressed, volunteering is an act where you can simply be and relax.

The key is to reverse the situation. When you feel down and blue, sad and lonely, you have to reverse it by doing something positive. When you feel negative, it opens the emotional box that ramifies into more negative behavior patterns. And the same goes for being optimistic. It opens a different box full of positive feelings and emotions. Exactly what you need to get the bounce back in your step and turn the frown upside down.

Don’t ever be embarrassed about reaching out for support. I know it is more difficult to deal with than said and done. But talking to someone really helps release emotions, sadness, and stress. The problem is holding it in. The more you hold it in, the more it festers in your mind. That is why talking is a great way to release pressure, stress and be rid of depression.