Healthy Coping for the New Year

After the holidays are over, we might feel drained, stressed, and burnt out. The chaos of the holidays can leave us feeling extremely stressed. The New Year is the perfect opportunity to embrace new coping strategies to manage the post-holiday stress and get set for a successful year.

Take Time to Rest, Recharge, and Find Peace 

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it is okay to slow down. Give yourself permission to rest and recharge; it is necessary to take care of your mental health. Try to make time for activities that help you feel rested and recharged, whether that is reading, taking a nap, watching TV, spending time outside, working out, or simply doing nothing at all.

Set Realistic New Year Expectations and Intentions

The new year can feel like a fresh start and the perfect opportunity to begin setting expectations, intentions, or goals. Often though, we get caught up in the goal setting and feel pressured to set major goals; this can lead to stress and even disappointment. Instead of pushing yourself to set major goals, focus on setting realistic ones or even focusing more on expectations and intentions. The more realistic goals we set, the more encouraged we become when working toward them. We want to set ourselves up for success!

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally focusing your awareness on the present moment or the “here and now” and observing your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. Coming out of the holiday stress and chaos and into the new year can be overwhelming. This is the perfect opportunity to begin practicing mindfulness. Try deep breathing, taking a walk outside and naming what you see around you, or meditation and mindful stretching. Practicing mindfulness can help manage stress and navigate change more calmly.

Try Different Styles of Coping

There are four styles of coping; it is important to find the style that works well for you and the situation.

• Problem-focused coping: when you actively address and solve the stressor through planning or taking action.
• Emotion-focused coping: when you manage emotional responses to stress, often through things like mindfulness activities.
• Meaning-focused coping: when you find purpose or meaning in stressful situations, often based on your personal beliefs or values like spirituality of religion
• Social-focused coping: when you seek support from others, such as friends, family, or support groups, to gain comfort and perspective.

 Remember that Methodist EAP is here to help! Call us at 901-683-5658 or visit us at www.methodisteapcanhelp.org.

About the Author

Taylor Johnson, PhD, LPC-MHSP
Counselor

Taylor Johnson is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a designation of Mental Health Service Provider. Taylor received her undergraduate degree and graduate degrees from the University of Memphis. Taylor has a Bachelor’s degree in Disability Studies and Rehabilitation Services, a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. Taylor has experience working with health science graduate students and medical residents and fellows. She has worked with clients with a wide range of mental health concerns including OCD, ADHD/neurodiversity, anxiety, depression, and work/life balance. Taylor is originally from Arkansas but has called Memphis home for the past six years. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time outside with her spouse and pup, and finding new and challenging things to bake.