How to minimize stress during the holiday season | Opinion
Alex Cochran, Deseret News
While the holiday season may be full of joy for many, it can also be a time of distress. Studies show that stress levels increase for many at this time of year because of challenging family dynamics, busy calendars, financial pressures, shorter daylight hours and accentuated loneliness.
As the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the largest college within Utah Valley University, I am familiar with the mental health challenges that affect our students, faculty, staff and the wider community.
A few weeks ago, our college hosted a mental health conference attended by over 1,000 mental health professionals. Our team, together with mental health experts, organized a conference that spanned a range of important topics, including suicide prevention, depression, substance abuse and relational violence. Providing education on these matters and a place for professional networking helps those who work on these crucial issues in our community.
Here are three things to keep in mind about mental health.
Prioritize self-care
The airline safety routine got it right. Put on your own oxygen mask first so you can then assist those around you.
Self-care does not need to be elaborate. It can be as simple as taking time to meditate every morning, turning off social media in the evenings, taking regular walks with a loved one, keeping a gratitude journal, exercising or ensuring that you get enough sleep on a consistent schedule. These small acts can make a difference for you and those around you.
Create supportive relationships
Pay attention to those around you. We are social creatures and we need each other. That means we should think about how our words and actions impact others’ mental health, try to support others the best we can, and encourage everyone to build meaningful relationships with others. If someone is in a very difficult situation, encourage them to obtain the help they need.
Increase mental health services
As individuals and as a society, we need to advocate for increased mental health services within our community. Mental health impacts everyone, either personally or through their relationships with others, and there are thousands of unmet needs in our community.
When those within our community are not doing well mentally, they are not doing well physically.
While we are making progress on this issue, there is still more to do. Our college is committed to increasing the number of professionals who work in this area as graduates of our Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work, marriage and family therapy, and clinical mental health counseling degrees. We also operate the UVU Community Mental Health Clinic, which provides no-cost mental health services to community members as part of the training of marriage and family therapists. We all should be advocating for increased services and access in our community.
In our recent conference, plenary speaker Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician and former Surgeon General of California, emphasized that “mental health is health.” When those within our community are not doing well mentally, they are not doing well physically. The mental and physical are forever intertwined. There is hope for progress on this front, and each of us can make a difference.
Steven Clark is dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Utah Valley University. Clark earned a Ph.D and M.A. in psychology from the University of New Hampshire and a B.S. in psychology from Brigham Young University.
