The holiday season has always challenged mental health experts and their patients. Things like loneliness, depression and grief over lost loved ones don’t go away just because the ornaments and the mistletoe come out. In fact, they often get worse.
Add in the losses, complexities and emotional strain of an ongoing pandemic, and anyone making holiday plans right now could benefit from some guidance as the festive season nears.
Below, Emily Hemendinger, LCSW, MPH, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, offers expert advice for some of the toughest situations the holidays might present this year.