Person looking at a smartphone beside a Christmas tree

Spending The Holidays Alone? 3 Tips To Take Care Of Your Mental Health

HealthPlans of NC

Emilie Poplett

QUICK READ

  • With COVID-19 cases rising, many of us have chosen to stay home for the holidays. This might bring up feelings of sadness or loneliness.

  • To cope with difficult feelings, make a self-care plan ahead of time.

  • It’s healthy to acknowledge your feelings. Despite what social media tells us, we won’t always feel joyful, and that’s okay.

  • Allow yourself to enjoy your holiday celebration, even if they look different this year.

When news of COVID-19 hit headlines earlier this year, I thought we’d be out of the woods by the summer. I never imagined that come fall, we’d be making our holiday plans around COVID-19. (For all The Office fans out there, cue Michael Scott: “I’m going through a bit of a rough patch. The whole year actually.”)This holiday season, many people will spend their holidays alone for the first time in their lives. Our aging relatives may be at high risk of severe complications from the virus. And travel—whether by plane or car—puts us at greater risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 than staying at home. So many of us have decided to hunker down alone or with our immediate families at home this year. For reasons unrelated to COVID, I’m sort of a veteran at spending the holidays alone. Here are a few tips for taking care of your mental health this holiday season.

Make a plan to cope with loneliness.

Think ahead about what helps you cope with sadness and loneliness. It can help to write down some ideas when you’re in a good headspace. If I feel lonely I will:

  1. ___________

  2. ___________

  3. ___________

Call a loved one. Get outside for a walk. Read your favorite book. Whatever works for you. The goal isn’t to avoid your feelings, but to take good care of yourself when difficult feelings come up.

Acknowledge your feelings.

Greeting cards, Hallmark movies, and friends’ social media accounts might make it seem like we should all be feeling joyful and #blessed. That’s unrealistic every year, let alone in 2020. Try to avoid comparing your holiday experience to someone else’s or to previous years. Give yourself permission to feel whatever you’re feeling. Sad? Lonely? Angry? All of those emotions are allowed. Acknowledge how you really feel, and remember that difficult feelings will pass.

Give yourself permission to celebrate.

On the flip side, allow yourself to enjoy the holiday season when you’re feeling up for it. If your family always bakes a special dessert, make that dessert again this year. Or, if it feels better to you, take this year to try out some new traditions. Either way, give yourself permission to take part in activities that make the holidays feel special. Decorate the house, even if it’s just for you. Bake that bread that always smells so good. Watch your favorite holiday movies. Or keep it simple and just enjoy a bubble bath and a good book. Just because our celebrations look different this year doesn’t mean they can’t be fun.


Seeking more information about health plans for both mental and physical health? Contact the Health Plans of NC Independent Agent on this website.

Ready to get started?

See plans and pricing today.

Related Articles

Thanksgiving family waving at smartphone
Health, Covid 19

7 Creative Ways To Celebrate The Holidays Safely During COVID-19

To keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from COVID-19, many of us are staying home for the holidays this year. The CDC has put out guidelines for planning our winter holidays that typically involve large gatherings of family and friends, like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s. And North Carolina remains in Phase 3 of COVID-19 precautions, which limits indoor gatherings to 10 people or fewer. While this year will undoubtedly look different from years past, our holiday celebrations can still be meaningful and enjoyable. We want to help you have a safe, healthy and fun holiday season. So, we asked Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina employees for some creative ideas to enjoy the season, 2020-style. Here’s what they said.
1. Send everyone a “build your own tacky sweater” kit.
You can buy these online or make your own. If making your own, try supplies like felt, buttons, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, stickers and a sewing kit! Then connect with your family or friends on video chat for crafting sessions leading up to the holidays.
HealthPlans of NC

Emilie Poplett

People wearing masks at an airport
Health, Covid 19

10 Holiday Traveling Tips To Keep You Safe From COVID-19

I’m tired of COVID-19! If I hear one more person use the term “new normal,” I’m going to cry. I can’t accept this is our “new normal,” and I’m ready for things to go back to the “real normal. ”But for now, COVID-19 has other plans. If you’d told me in February that come the end of the year, we’d be making our holiday plans around COVID-19, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But here we are. During the holidays many of us travel to visit family and friends. In 2019 55 million Americans travelled during Thanksgiving, and at Christmas, 115 million Americans travelled. That is a lot of us travelling! Recently the CDC shared that travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. You may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can still spread COVID-19. You can spread COVID-19 to others for 14 days after you are exposed to the virus. And studies are showing that even those without symptoms can have longer-term health complications from COVID-19.My family has decided to stay home for the holidays. While that is the right choice for our situation, yours may be different. Whatever you decide, stay safe and I hope these tips help you during your travels.
IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING TRAVELING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, HERE ARE TEN THINGS TO CONSIDER.
1. Check the number of cases for the last seven days in the state you want to travel to and determine if you are comfortable with the trend.
HealthPlans of NC

James LaCorte

Ready to get started?

See plans and pricing today.