How to Change Your Mood – Christmas and Mental Health

Whether Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, or a tough time for you, there’s a few lessons we can take away from chasing the festive feeling, and apply to managing our mental health all year round.

Here’s a few of Si’s thoughts on this! You can watch the video below (or on YouTube here) and/or read along below the video if that’s more your bag!

No, because if you’re not feeling “Christmassy” it doesn’t mean you’re broken, and doesn’t mean you’re never going to feel it ever again. You’re gonna have to bear with me here cuz I’m gonna shoehorn in a BUNCH of Christmas mental health metaphors.

Truth is: I’ve kinda struggled to get into the Christmassy spirit this year myself. Which is surprising to me. Cuz I flippin love Christmas. And if anything, that’s felt even more jarring. Because I usually am WELL into Christmas vibes by now. 

And that’s a similar feeling when you’re struggling with your mental health too. It sucks when you struggle to find enjoyment in the things you used to. It can kinda make you question yourself, and almost WHO you are. 

But you’re still the same person. You’re still just as worthy of love, and kindness and SUPPORT as you’ve always been. You’re just going through this season right now. But that doesn’t mean you’ll always be there. 

Because just like how Christmas sometimes feels like it’s over before you know it, Feelings come and go. Some feelings are gonna stick around for ages. And some are gonna move on super quick. 

But the truth is that you can’t bully your brain into feeling a certain way. It doesn’t work for trying to get into the Christmassy spirit, and it doesn’t work for mental health either. 

If you’re struggling right now, just trying to *will* yourself into feeling better isn’t gonna be the move. You can’t force yourself to not be depressed. You can’t force yourself to not be anxious. But you can do small things to help yourself get there. I keep coming back to this line from The Wonder Years:

It’s not about forcing happiness; it’s about not letting sadness win. 

So for me, trying to get into the Christmassy spirit. The first step has been giving myself a break. I understand that I’m perhaps not feeling festive because we’ve been flat out with workshops, and being in the shop, and raising a toddler. So go easy on yourself. Have a think about what’s been happening around you, what circumstances are you in that might be causing you to feel a certain way. And then: is there anything you can do about it? If not, then just give yourself a break. You’re dealing with a lot, so give yourself the space to experience that! If it’s something you can do something about, then we can start to put things in place. 

But that leads me onto maybe the key point I want you to take away from this. 

Which is that changing your mood – whether it’s Christmas or mental health – doesn’t come from one giant moment. Change happens in the small, every day moments. So be patient with yourself, and take some small steps. 

Music is a big part of my experience. 

But rather than just blasting the standard Christmas classics and expecting to suddenly feel Christmassy. I’m peppering in alt Christmas songs with my usual listening (like did you know Fall Out Boy did a cover of a muppets Christmas Carol song??) 

And a mental health example I’ll always come back to is that if you’re feeling say angry, listening to happy music and just hoping that’s gonna change your mood ain’t gonna work. But building a playlist that starts off angry, and then gradually transitions to heavy music but upbeat lyrics and then moves into generally happier music is gonna be a bit more effective. It’s giving you the space to actually feel those feelings & work through them. 

And finally let’s talk about traditions.

The thing about traditions is: they’re good because they’re familiar, they’re safe. They tell your brain that everything’s ok and you don’t need to be on high alert & scanning for threats cuz we recognise what’s going on here. 

It’s the reason why when everything feels out of your control, watching an old film or a series that you’ve seen a million times and know all the words to, could be a helpful thing. And of course, this time of year, we’re going back to the classics like Muppets Christmas Carol & Jingle All The Way. But in general, if you’re feeling like everything’s just happening around you and to you, finding something that’s familiar and feels safe, can be a good way to get through it. 

It doesn’t solve all your problems, but it might help you stay safe til the feelings pass. 

So wherever you are. Whatever your situation is: I hope you find some small ways to help you keep your head above the waves. At Christmas, and all year round.

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