Christmas is meant to be a joyful time, but the reality for many people is it can be a period of great stress, anxiety and mental health strains.
For some this is a simple consequence of having to do too much, being placed under excessive stress by high demands for the use of time, spending of money and other expectations that can be too high to cope with. That is why mental health charities like Mind offer advice in helping reduce stress at this time of year.
Stress can easily morph into fear and anxiety and this can be made worse by bad experiences and associations around Christmas, whether the result of a past Christmas going terribly wrong, a family reunion with people who have been violent and abusive in the past, or a combination of factors.
Indeed, relationships coach Lisa Cherry went as far as to point out in a blog that: “There are not a plethora of high functioning families sitting around the table laughing and joking and loving and appreciating one another deeply before the yearly game of happy charades.” Instead, she pointed out that family issues from abuse to violence to alcoholism and addiction are “not rare”.
Seeing an anxiety therapist in west London can go a long way to help. Firstly, it can help people discover new coping mechanisms. It can also help people to separate the things that they can control through thought processes from big concerns that they need to take practical steps to tackle, such as minimising contact with a person who causes them severe problems.
By seeking this kind of therapy, people can do more than just survive Christmas, instead finding that once the anxiety is taken out of it, they can enjoy the festive season and make the most of all it brings.