Adults are not the only ones who feel the stress of the holiday season. While your teenager might enjoy the holidays, if they are struggling with their mental health, this time of year may be particularly challenging for them. As a parent, you can help your adolescent develop a plan that allows them to enjoy the festive season and preserve their emotional well-being. At Palms Behavioral Health in Harlingen, Texas, we offer mental health treatment for adolescents and support to their families.
The Most Stressful Time of the Year
Around 64 percent of people with mental health diagnoses say that their mental illness gets worse at the end of the year. Your child might be one of these people who is negatively impacted. There are a variety of reasons why your teen might struggle with the holidays, some of which include:
- Disruptions to their routine
- Not being able to see friends over the school break
- Not having the consistency of getting up each day to attend classes
- Longer periods between therapy appointments
- Eating differently than usual
- Not knowing what to expect
- Being asked to participate in events that only occur once per year
- Not being told what plans their family may have
- Not knowing how they are expected to behave in new settings
- Overstimulation from holiday events
- Feeling pressure from extended family to behave as though they don’t have a mental health disorder
How Parents Can Help
Your child may not say so, but teens still look to their parents for guidance and support. Your example of how you manage the holidays and the conversations you have with your child around the festivities can have a huge impact on how well they are able to manage the celebrations.
- Normalize feeling a wide range of emotions – by voicing your own excitement, concern, sadness, and other feelings about the activities you’ll be experiencing and asking your child how they are feeling, you can create a safe space for your teen to talk about their potentially contradictory emotions. Many people were raised to believe that experiencing difficult emotions means that a person is ungrateful. You can help your child recognize that they can simultaneously appreciate their blessings and also struggle to manage the chaos holidays can create in their lives.
- Maintain healthy habits – though it might be tempting to let kids stay up late, overindulge in sweets, and spend hours in front of screens, making sure that they maintain a solid sleep routine, eat healthy, and get enough exercise will go a long way in helping them to manage their mental health during times of stress.
- Engage your child in developing strategies for stress management – Plan ahead and give your child the opportunity to share their input about what they need to enjoy the holidays. If there is a toxic family member whose behavior has created distress for them in the past, come up with a plan to reduce their interactions with that person. If they tend to become overstimulated at loud, large gatherings, determine if they should be attending these or if there might be a way for them to get breaks from the noise and activity when it gets overwhelming.
- Keep your child updated on what is coming next – it can be very helpful for kids to have some idea what your family will be doing. Consider creating a calendar that your child can access, with holiday plans listed. Your child may also enjoy helping you choose family activities.
- Pick your battles – it can be tempting to jump into action any time your child displays an annoying behavior, but sometimes a bit of added grace is more helpful. Focus on commending good choices and only addressing poor choices that are significant.
Signs That the Holidays are Stressing Your Child
Even if you have a great plan for managing the stress of the season, sometimes unexpected issues arise. Keep an eye out for these indications that your child is having difficulty coping and be ready to modify plans as needed:
- Emotional outbursts
- Irritability
- Sleep issues
- Seeming withdrawn
- School issues
- Defiant behavior
- Physical complaints, like stomach pain or headaches
At Palms Behavioral Health, we help our patients and their caregivers to plan ahead and manage expectations. We know that parents of adolescents with mental health concerns are handling their own stress while helping their children manage challenging mental-health-related struggles and that the holidays can make things even more difficult than usual. We want to give families the tools to build beautiful holiday memories and traditions.
