Resources for mental health are pictured a the CMHA office in Medicine Hat-(Photo by Colton McKee)

By Charles Lefebvre

Holiday Stress

Canadian Mental Health Association provides tips to avoid holiday stress

Dec 16, 2019 | 2:51 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — As the hustle and bustle of the holidays reaches a fever pitch in the coming weeks, the Canadian Mental Health Association is reminding people to make time to take care of themselves.

“We try to stay away from having people believe that only the holidays are important for mental health, because mental health is important 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Breanne Mellen, suicide prevention coordinator with the local chapter of CMHA.

However, Mellen notes the holidays can bring additional stressors for people struggling with mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression.

“We have a lot of time pressures that we put on ourselves,” she said. “We have a lot of pressures to find and buy the right gifts and wrap them for all of our friends and family.

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“We also have a lot of pressure when it comes to people in our lives. We tend to think of the holidays as a time to get together with family, but sometimes family isn’t the greatest support for us. So pushing ourselves to be around people who are not healthy for us can increase our stressors.”

Mellen says you should make sure you’re not over committing to events and activities, and ensure you have at least 30 minutes a day of downtime to help manage your mental health and deal with the stress of the season.

“One of the big things with the holidays and planning appropriately is time management,” she said, “Definitely sticking to a schedule and not stepping outside of that can help you decrease your stress. Making sure you’re getting enough sleep and eating right, and reaching out for support when you need it, that’s also a key component to staying safe at the holidays.”

If you are struggling or in crisis, there are several support lines you can turn to.

The Distress Centre is a 24-hour support phone line that can be reached by calling 1-800-784-2433 (for people living in the 403 area code).

The AHS Mental Health Line also offers intervention and crisis support. It can be reached 24 hours a day at 1-877-303-2642.

Kids Help Phone is also available 24/7 for youth who need help. They can be reached by phone at 1-800-668-6868, or by text by texting 686868.