Mental Health at Christmas

For many, Christmas is a time for celebration, enjoyment and spending time with family and friends. However, Christmas can also bring challenges, including financial struggles, difficult relationships, competing family pressures, loneliness, bereavement or traumatic memories.

It is important to remember that Christmas brings different implications for everyone and showing compassion to ourselves and others over the festive season is paramount. Mental Health UK found that 80% of survey respondents felt that their mental health symptoms increased over Christmas and almost 75% reported feeling lonelier despite being with friends and family (2024). The Royal Society for Public Health found that 76% of survey respondents reported family arguments impact on their mental wellbeing in a negative manner over Christmas (2017).

We have put together 5 tips for mental health and wellbeing over Christmas:

1. Monitor your Social Battery

The “social battery” is a metaphor being increasingly used to describe the amount of energy and capacity an individual has for socialising with others. The size or capacity of a social battery will vary between individuals. Therefore, some people’s batteries may become “drained” at a faster pace than others. Whilst spending time with loved ones can be enjoyable and fulfilling, it can also be tiring and sometimes even challenging so it is important to be aware of our own social batteries and when they require “recharging”.

It can be helpful to be aware of the factors that contribute to the depletion of our own social batteries, for example, some people may find that their batteries drain faster when they are in large groups, at an event that goes on for several hours or in which the interaction or activity is energetic or particularly stressful. Identifying these factors in advance can help us to become aware when our batteries are becoming low and require recharging. We will all have different methods of recharging our batteries. For some it may be helpful to spend some time alone doing a quiet activity and for others it may be helpful to exercise or go for a walk. If we feel comfortable to do so, it can be helpful to communicate this with our friends and family so that they understand and do not feel rejected.

2. Reduce the Pressure

Christmas can bring a variety of pressures on our time, energy and finances.  The perceived need to contribute time and financial resources to presents, decorations, and travelling to visit family and friends can make it difficult to avoid feeling a pressure to do everything in the way that others appear to. It is important to avoid comparing our own Christmas to others and remember that Christmas is a personal time and traditions can be changed, adapted or even recreated to suit us as individuals whilst prioritising our own mental health, wellbeing and financial constraints.

Setting boundaries can be helpful when managing finances, time and energy levels and being honest with friends and family with regards to these boundaries can lead to a mutual understanding and may even allow others to feel comfortable in setting and sharing their own boundaries.

3. Forgive the Imperfections

Adverts, films and social media feed us idyllic images of presents around the tree, a Christmas dinner that has been cooked to perfection, everyone getting on well and children behaving immaculately.  However this isn’t always (or often!) the reality and that is ok. It is ok for things not to be perfect and for the real image not to match up to the ones we have seen in the films.  In fact it is highly likely that at least a few things don’t go to plan, just as it is on any other day of the year and it is important to forgive ourselves and others for this.

4. Be Compassionate to Others’ Circumstances.

As discussed above, Christmas will evoke different feelings and memories for different people and it is important to appreciate that others may want to celebrate in a different way, perhaps with their own time, energy or financial boundaries in place, or perhaps may not want to celebrate at all and it is always important to respect this. It is also important to remember that others are likely to have different social batteries to ourselves and to respect that theirs may need “recharging” more frequently or at a different time.

For those of us with friends or family members with mental health needs, traumatic Christmas memories or bereavements, it can be helpful to talk to them before the festive period to ask if there is anything specifically that they may need support with. They may be grateful for the opportunity to share how best we can support them and this may be by giving them more space over Christmas, less space over Christmas or a regular scheduled phonecall or meet up to help maintain structure and routine.

5. Seek Support

If you are struggling over Christmas, there is no shame in being honest and reaching out for support from friends and family.  If you are struggling with any mental health concerns over Christmas, support is available from the resources below:

• Find your local NHS mental health helpline via Mental Health Helpline for Urgent Help – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
• Seek help from your GP.
• Call 111.
• Samaritans: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 116 123 or contact them via Contact Us | Samaritans. Open as usual over Christmas.
• SHOUT 85258: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week offers crisis text support. Text SHOUT to 85258. Open as usual over Christmas.
• Suicide Prevention UK: 6pm- midnight, 7 days a week on 0800 689 5652. Open 24 hours on Christmas Day and normal working hours over the remainder of the festive period.
• CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably): daily 5pm- midnight on 0800 58 58 58 or contact them via Get Help & Support With… | Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) (thecalmzone.net). Open as usual over Christmas.
• Hub of Hope: A database of local mental health resources in your area. Visit Mental Health Support Network provided by Chasing the Stigma | Hub of hope
• Papyrus: For people under 35 who feel life is no longer worth living, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 0800 068 41 41 or text 07786 209697. Open as usual over Christmas.
• Childline: For people under 19, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 0800 1111 or contact them via Contacting Childline | Childline Open as usual over Christmas.

In the case of an emergency, call 999 or attend your nearest A&E Department.