An Online Community for Mental Health Support

Day 22: Create meaningful holiday traditions to cherish

7 Cups Online Therapy / by ASilentObserver

4 minutes ago

...See more Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. This post is part of the 25 Days of Gratitude, Self-Care, and Personal Growth event at 7 Cups. The pressure to experience joy and create cherished holiday memories can be overwhelming. The holidays can be a difficult time, especially if you spend them without loved ones. Whether you are far from family, lost someone close and loved one, or making conscious choices about your relationships, the holiday season can be daunting. Traditionally speaking, holiday seasons are a time of joy, fun, and celebration but for many, it is a difficult time of the year when they experience heightened feelings of grief, loneliness seasonal depression, or anxiety. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find something to be joyful. There are many ways to create meaningful and personalized holiday traditions that can bring comfort, joy, and a sense of connection, even during challenging times. 1. Revive and honor old traditions that you enjoyed You may have some old traditions that you enjoyed but now you don’t do them anymore due to one or other reasons. But this season, you may rethink bringing some of those old traditions to cherish the memories associated with them. Such attempts can bring a sense of connection and continuity. You can also choose to honor loved ones by creating personalized ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree like photos, and handwritten letters, or volunteer your time to special charities or causes. 2. Cook your favorite meal This one is my personal favorite as cooking your favorite meal is simply therapeutic. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or a holiday feast, it can be as simple as making your favorite sandwich, toast, or some hot soup. The process of making your meal is calm and relaxing. So, just make an effort to make something for yourself this holiday season. 3. Gift something to yourself Giving gifts to yourself does not make you materialistic or selfish. It just makes you human. The gift can be anything that you like, maybe a book, a cup of coffee, some nature photographs or a meal at your favorite diner. It is one of the ways to celebrate yourself and a reminder that you deserve to feel good about yourself this season as much as anyone else. So, let’s rethink how we spend our time this holiday season. I understand that it is a tough time of the year for you but know that you deserve time to be easy on yourself and try to be gentle and kinder to yourself. Please know the holidays don't have to be a time of sadness or isolation. Create your traditions to find joy, comfort, and a sense of purpose during this holiday season. Let us know in the comments if you have any traditions of yours already or thinking of something to make one this year.

Christmas Tree and Messages

Pen Pals / by incredibleRainbows2036

11 minutes ago

...See more Hiee Lovelies ♡ How are you all doing this Christmas? Me is going through a bit rough time so am on a break . But I am so excited for Christmas. In my country , we don't really celebrate Christmas but one thing am always excited for is Christmas Messages ♡ Last year too , I made such a post so that we can leave messages for people and thank them for being their in our life . So this is my Christmas Tree , am so excited to read this years messages ♡ https://decomytree.com/home?hashedId=0q0Z7rwYJjOq Also I'd like to tag a few people who supported me and motivated me to move forward ♡ ( Sorry even if you are not tagged , you can still leave a message and tag your friends here . Want to tag so many people but yeah I can't hehe) @Daf8 @LoveMyMoonflowers @jujuied @theboymoana @politeCircle6131 @ReganL @KateDoskocilova @PurrfectlyFine @Mahad2804 @tuffattack @CallumCares421 @Ellez5427 @justnomo @AshleyTheHappyAthiest @KristenHR @kenzolena @hopedreamlove @EnigmaticCat24 @Hope @VioletNotes @Heartsandrosesandpaws @AuroraAstral @CaringEzra @tranquilechoes @DarkerPlaces @exuberantBlackberry9105 @NotSeven @Bluetiger2008 @BlackBlueWhite @Finny17 @Megalomentaurus @theboymoana @Alexo00101 @Antonio7Cups @BlueRivercares @aquaaaaa @MelodyoftheOcean @exuberantWriter5514 @justmeeva @Jenna @Sebastian0o0 @hi66666 @steph8402 @ALeXaNdEr0712 @Bunnylovesyou @TinyWhisper @AffyAvo @unassumingEyes @Lenapaige @SmollPeridotsBreakdown @THE1NONLYVENUS @Tinywhisper11 @SantaCups You can even share your Christmas trees and I'll love to leave a message Let's celebrate this Christmas by leaving them the last message of this year and thanking them for sticking around ♡ Tag your friends and leave them a heartfelt message ♡

The first PC I ever built.

Hobby Zone / by amicableox0685

13 minutes ago

I relapsed on meth after 45 days

Alcohol & Drug Addiction Support / by sociablePomegranate7416

33 minutes ago

Chat for annacat and raymond ☺️

Pen Pals / by annacat7991

43 minutes ago

pregnant

Parenting & Pregnancy / by tealPapaya5453

49 minutes ago

I'm so hopeless, I don't know what to do

General Support / by Zae1

1 hour ago

...See more Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well, anyone reading this. It's my first post here so I'm a little anxious. I would like to share a little of how I feel. I won't share much of my personal information, but I am a girl. I'm in my second semester of college, and so far I'm doing very well. The thing is, about 5 years ago I started to develop low self-esteem. But it's something I was able to control. But over time, everything got worse. I looked for support from my friends and other people and those things. Everything was going well. But about 4-5 months ago I started to suffer from something similar to anhedonia. My life has always been one of constant stress because of the fear of disappointing my parents with my grades. I developed gastritis at an early age.Well, getting back to the topic of my supposed anhedonia, I feel weird. I'm being honest. I feel bad and very weird.Before, (I mean about a year),I was a very compassionate and emotional person. I spent a lot of time playing my favorite video games and characters, enjoying my hobbies and spending time with my friends. A lot.I have always been a good student, daughter, and daugther. I was passionate about mysterious things and magical, medieval vibes.I had a talent. Yes, I did. I loved drawing since I was little. I have an art account on ***, but I haven't posted anything there for a month.I feel hopeless. For a couple of years now I guess I really was suffering from depression. Nothing matters to me. I stopped talking to many friends. I have a void in my chest. I can't cry the way I'd like to. I've never been completely happy for long in my life. I'm always going from here to there. I've always felt like I'm weird. I'm not happy with myself. The last few months have been about getting through my day to day life. I have a music playlist. I loved that music and it made me feel things and feel good, wanting to fight for my passions. But now I don't feel anything. I listen to them and I don't feel anything. I've been looking into this a lot and I think it's "emotional burnout". But I'm not interested. I don't want to go outside. I miss how I used to feel. With my tastes and my passions and the things I loved. I used to have a lot of projects with my art and stuff like that. I've tried to convince myself that I'm supposed to grow up. But adults are also happy and feel things, right? I guess I've ruined my life with my pessimism. I'll never feel anything again, I think.All my pleasures for which I fought three years are not worth it.I have been looking for new interests in case you are wondering. Yes, this year I discovered a sport that I love and that did not affect my other interests. But now I no longer feel that spark when I watch my favorite sports. I can't really talk to my parents for help right now because they are in a difficult situation with their jobs. And I can't get a therapist at the moment... I miss my video games, talking to my friends, enjoying my art and my favorite characters.I miss my emotions. I miss being sentimental.. I miss everything. And I blame myself every day.. it's hard to cope with all this.. for all these years.. All these four years of holding on and thinking that the next day will be better. All those nights I cried because I wished I wasn't here.All these years doubting everything. I've been miserable.I'm the oldest sister, so I don't want my little brother to go through what I've been going through. My chest hurts. I feel lost. I feel bad.I don't care about myself. I miss everything. That's all.I don't feel well enough to give more details. I'm sorry if you read all this and thank you for reading it. Thank you for your patience and your valuable time.I would appreciate if anyone could leave a comment if they could. Just wanted to share this. Thanks and have a nice day.

dealing with parents

Trauma Support / by sincereFig7923

1 hour ago

Does anyone else struggle the same thing.

Healthy Living / by ambitiousPine9287

1 hour ago

Depressed and defeates

35 & Over Community / by zeetee17

2 hours ago

Sockie land 🧦 (don’t make the socks angry by peeking 😁)

Pen Pals / by SparklingLuna

2 hours ago

Man of Concern

Religion & Spirituality / by tryingtosurvive2024

2 hours ago

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