"More than 1M people in US...facing their first holiday season without a loved one..."

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Isabella Isaacs-Thomas
How to care for your mental health in a difficult holiday season, according to therapists
Health Dec 21, 2020 5:23 PM EST


Chances are the final weeks of 2020 look markedly different than what you would’ve predicted on the first day of this year. With COVID-19 case and death counts on the rise and hospitals continuing to fill up, many are grappling with the ways that the unchecked coronavirus has sabotaged their daily lives, their economic stability and their time-honored traditions at the end of a year where shared celebration and community may feel more important than ever before.

More than a million people in the U.S. are also estimated to be facing their first holiday season without a loved one who has died from the disease.

Regardless of your circumstances, it’s likely that this moment is impacting your mental health in one way or another. In an American Psychological Association poll from late October, 62 percent of adults reported that they felt “more anxious” than they did at the same time last year.

One major driver of that anxiety? The pervasive uncertainty of living through a pandemic. We’ve been dealing with the same answerless questions for months: When will we be able to feel safe spending time with the people we care about, but don’t live with? Will in-person work and school ever resume a more normal tempo? How long will we have to wear masks and stay vigilant?

“All of those things are literally big, fat question marks. And people struggle with that because we’re not sure how long it’ll last and, inevitably, that creates anxiety and worry,” Louisville-based licensed psychologist Kevin Chapman explained.

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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-to-care-for-your-mental-health-in-a-difficult-holiday-season-according-to-therapists