Feeling Jealousy over the holidays?
For some people, the holiday season is the happiest time of the year. For others, this is a reminder of what’s not right in your life. During the holidays and New Year as we gather with friends and family members who seem to have their life all together, you may be finding yourself jealous or envious of them.
Feelings of jealousy and loneliness can easily creep up during the holiday season.
Please rest assured that feelings of jealousy aren’t uncommon. Especially when you’ve been working hard to find the person whom you want to be with, the right apartment, the perfect job, etc. This is specially hard if you’re starting your career and hear of everyone’s success, you may find yourself fighting your jealous feelings.
You may find yourself trying to solve the answer to some questions that make you jealous:
Why am I not being invited to a certain party?
Why are other people having white elephant parties and I’m not invited?
How come I didn’t catch an invite to Friendsgiving?
Do I not have real friends?
Everyone seems to have a special someone while I feel alone…..
If you are dealing with jealousy over this holiday season, there are a few suggestions to help put your mind at ease.
- Limiting your social media intake- can play a part in what you’re feeling. Social media is a constant reminder that a lot of people try to obtain a “perfect-looking” Instagram.
This can be tightened around the holidays when people post their holiday cheer with their family members. By moving away from this comparison, you should consider putting that time you would normally spend scrolling, on time you could be putting towards yourself.
- Practicing gratitude- is another way to put your mind at ease over this holiday season. Attempting to be grateful for your blessings isn’t a cure for jealousy. This can go a long way in overcoming jealousy in your life.
People tend to make the holiday season look special while being grateful for things like their health, family, friends, talents, or other things they can enjoy instead of focusing on things they wish you had.
During this time of the year, it is important to practice gratitude and have self-compassion. It may not happen this year but things can turn around. Think about all the other amazing things that are going well in your life.
The holidays are an interesting time of the year involving every emotion. Try to discourage yourself from letting the holidays defeat you. Look towards your support system, and healthy coping skills, and surround yourself with balanced people.
If you think your symptoms are just too much to handle on your own, consider seeking a medical or mental health professional. For more information contact us today
Written by Madison Wolfe
From Madison's bio...
Madison credits her warm, relatable, caring and welcoming but straightforward approach as one of her best attributes. She is able to provide a safe space for her clients to effectively communicate their struggles while learning new tools to manage them. Madison feels that her own experience with a family member who struggles with mental health issues has helped her to see the struggles from a sibling point of view, parents point of view and the individual point of view.