Online resources to help with holiday stress
MENTAL HEALTH
For some, the holiday season is, as the song goes, the most wonderful time of the year. But for others, it’s a season of anxiety and depression. And that may be particularly true this year.
These free online classes aim to help get you through to 2021.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed about the holidays and maybe life itself, podcast host and mindset coach Lynn Owens teaches you strategies to combat the family drama, broken relationships, stress of gift-giving, angst, loneliness and distress filling your mind and body. The Saturday, Dec. 5 session titled “Mistletoe Misery: Overcoming Holiday Anxiety” starts at 11:30 a.m. Sign up via https://www.eventbrite. com/e/mistletoe-miseryovercoming- holiday-anxiety-tickets 129339653385.
Two licensed mental health and addiction treatment clinicians will lead “Healthy Holidays: Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday Season” on Monday, Dec. 7 from 3:30-5 p.m. Knowing how emotionally taxing the holidays can be for people, whether or not you are in recovery, New York City-based alcohol- and drugrehabilitation center Mountainside Chelsea offers a workshop on maintaining holiday traditions, managing finances, time management, practicing self-care, safeguarding sobriety and preventing relapse, and supporting family members in recovery. Register at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/healthy-holidays-tipsfor- a-stress-free-holiday-seasontickets- 127922671153. Note that this program will use Microsoft Teams; the organizers recommend downloading the app to a desktop, tablet or phone for the best results.
The interactive webinar “Ho Ho Ho-w to Increase Happiness and Reduce Holiday Stress” offers to help you “find joy amid a pandemic, separation from loved ones and unprecedented uncertainty.” Join licensed mental health counselor Jill Hamilton Buss at 10 a.m. on Dec. 17 to explore how you can reorganize, reduce stress, recharge and reset so you can more meaningfully celebrate the season. Go to https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/ho-ho-how- to-increase-happiness-andreduce- holiday-stress-webinar-tickets 130043109441 to obtain the Zoom link.
