Coping with Thanksgiving

If it’s November, it must mean that Thanksgiving is once again just around the corner (or you’re recovering from the holiday and its accompanying shopping bonanza).

This is the time of the year that many people begin to feel overwhelmed… So what are you going to do about it? How do you avoid overeating? (And if you do indulge, how can you feel less guilty about it?) How can you deal with that relative whose company you just don’t enjoy?

Thanksgiving is a time of the year for many families to reconnect. But it can also be a very stressful time. Our annual Coping with Thanksgiving Guide will help you deal with some of the most common holiday-related mental health issues. So while we can’t improve your family, perhaps we can improve your mood and help you get through the holiday with your sanity intact. Have a Happy Thanksgiving — or at least one that has just a little less stress this year.

Topics covered in this article include: Overeating and over-drinking, Family, Difficult Relatives & Children, Holiday Travel, Coping with Stress, Dealing with Loneliness and Relationships, and Coping with Other Mental Health Issues.

We update this resource regularly, so please check back for additional articles.

General Holiday Coping

• 12 Ways to Be Thankful
  Many people aren’t very good at gratitude. Learn how to better cultivate gratitude in your own life this season.
• Top 10 Holiday Defense Mechanisms
• The Season of the Have To’s
  Understanding what’s absolutely necessary — versus what you feel you have to do — can make your family gather less stressful.
• The Keys to a Happy Holiday
  A few key strategies to help you keep your sanity this holiday season.
• 9 Ways to Have a Simpler but More Satisfying Holiday
• Holiday Coping Tips
• The Empty Chair at the Holiday Table
  How to make it through the holidays when a loved one has passed away.
• 4 Quick Mindfulness Techniques
  This is Thanksgiving week … The week some of us are very thankful that we don’t live in the same city as our relatives.
• Thanksgiving & Gratitude in Hard Times
  How can anyone be grateful when times are tough?
• Therapists Spill: What I’m Grateful For
  Therapists share some of the things they are most grateful in their lives.

Over-Eating & Over-Drinking

• Food, Family and the Holidays
  Identify your triggers and help make your Thanksgiving a little less food-stressful.
• Eating in Moderation is the Key to Feeling Guilt-Free this Holiday
• Manage Overeating Over the Holidays
  For many, family gatherings are positive events, but for the 9 million men, women or young people who have an eating disorder or engage in overeating, the holidays, without proper planning, can feel like nightmares.
• Why Are You Overeating?
  What motivates your overeating? This article will give you some insights and provide some eating guidelines to help you manage your overeating.
• Excess Carbs May Alter Appetite Regulation
  The ability to regulate appetite may decline with age if we overdo the carbohydrates, a recent study suggests.
• Get Rid of Your Excuses: Three Minute Refutations
  Learn to reduce unwanted behaviors — such as overeating — with these three-minute refutations.
• Celebrating Safely with Alcohol
  8 tips on how to safely celebrate the holidays.
• Holiday Drinking: Keep It Safe
  5 strategies for keeping it safe during the holidays.
• Overeating: It’s All In Your Head
  A four-part article describing cognitive-behavioral self-help techniques that can help you reduce your overeating.
• Overcoming Overeating During the Holidays and Beyond
• How to Have a Fat-Talk-Free Holiday Season
• Healthy Eating During the Holidays

Family, Difficult Relatives & Children

• Defusing Confrontation with “I” Statements
  This Thanksgiving, can you stop family confrontations in their tracks? You bet.
• Holiday Feasts and Family Misbehavior
  How can you deal effectively with a family member’s misbehavior this year?
• Holiday Traditions
  Understanding the importance of family traditions around the holidays.
• Talking Turkey: Managing Unhappy Relatives at Holiday Time
  How do you deal with your most difficult relatives during the holidays?
• 10 Tips for Surviving Thanksgiving with the Dysfunctional Family
  If it doesn’t come naturally, know that you’re not alone.
• Preparing Kids for Holiday Visits
  You love to travel with your children, don’t you? Make it less stressful for them and for you.
• Seasonal Stepfamily Stress: Tips to Help All Your Family Members Enjoy the Holidays
  You’ve got a lot to deal with two families, but you can make it work more smoothly.

Relationships & Loneliness

• Meet the Parents: Navigating the Holiday Dinner without the Stress
• Alone for Thanksgiving, Alone for Christmas
• Alone for the Holidays — The Issue Everyone Wants to Discuss
• When You’re Single for the Holidays
• Being Thankful Will Improve Your Relationship
• Being Thankful Alone

Thanksgiving & Other Mental Health Challenges

• Facing Thanksgiving Together After Trauma
  We all gather with others to give thanks and eat turkey. But how do you do that after trauma?
• Dealing with Deep Sadness During the Holidays
• Beating Depression This Holiday Season
• OCD & The Holiday Season
  How the holiday season impacts people who live with OCD.
• 5 Tips for the Emotionally Neglected at Thanksgiving
• In Recovery & Surviving the Holidays
  How do you navigate the holidays while in recovery?
• Turkey with A Side of Grief: Coping with Pregnancy Loss and Infertility During the Holidays
• Coping With an Eating Disorder During The Holidays
• Happy Thanksgiving With All the Complications
• 7 Tips for Surviving the Holidays with a Narcissist