STRESS: It’s a the most wonderful — and stressful — time of the year.

As a part of National Stress-free Family Holiday Month, the psychiatric rehabilitation team at Dickinson Center Inc. is offering mental wellness tips to help make the season merry and bright. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five people struggle with mental illness, including grief, depression or anxiety which can worsen during the holidays and winter months.

This time of the year can especially trigger heightened difficulties for people suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental illnesses. Common holiday pressures can create a perfect storm of additional stressors, symptoms and setbacks if not proactively addressed.

“Promoting holiday enjoyment and joy for all starts with practicing self-care and maintaining our mental health and supporting these for others.” said Rita Kraus BS, CPRP, senior program director of Site-based Psychiatric Rehabilitation at DCI. “Of course, this year we have COVID-19 to contend with so being completely stress-free may not be fully attainable but you can feel more comfortable by managing expectations.”

— Maintain your mental wellness by eating healthy, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. These three things can have a significant impact on how you handle stress, as well as affect your overall mood.

— Practice patience and forgiveness. You are not perfect, neither is anyone else, so be patient and forgiving of yourself and others.

— Manage your expectations. Practice mindfulness and understanding towards others. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don’t live up to your expectations.

— Take a break from social media. Absorbing yourself in photos and posts of other peoples’ perfect moments can create unrealistic expectations and pressure. Remember, all is not always as it seems.

We’ll share some more tips in a future column.