“Tis the season” is something that we hear often and it’s meant to convey things like family, gifts, food and overall good times of celebration. However, for some the holidays can be an incredibly stressful time, especially if they aren’t on the best of terms with their family.

In the US, next week is Thanksgiving. This is generally seen as a time of family gathering around great food and sometimes sports. A lot of families have these really great traditions and people get excited about those things. Though for those of us whose caregivers hurt us, there comes a decision to engage in these festivities and risk being hurt all over again.

I want to remind everyone who has to face that decision that you do not have to put yourself in those environments if you don’t feel safe. You aren’t obligated to give them any of your time or energy and you can choose to spend time with the people in your life that support you.

This post was intended to be a lot longer, but even for someone like myself who has a lot of support, the holidays bring up a lot of painful memories for me and took a lot to write just this much.

If the holidays bring up painful things for you, therapy can help give you some support that can help you get through the season. Dryad Counseling is taking new clients and you can schedule a phone consultation to get the process started.

#holidays #therapy #mentalhealth #family #seasons