How to Cope With Your First Holiday Season Living Alone

When a spouse passes or an adult child moves away, it leaves a sense of loneliness and grief in your life. As the first holiday season alone approaches, you begin to feel the loss even more deeply and must find ways to cope with these feelings.

These feelings are common and bubble up throughout the holiday season when you're living alone for the first time in decades. However, there are ways to cope with these feelings and even enjoy this time of year. Here are some things to consider:

Plan to Feel Overwhelmed and Allow Yourself to Grieve

The holiday season is geared toward families and spending time together, which can make your loss feel even more overwhelming. When you know that it's going to be tough, you can allow yourself to grieve more easily.

You know your family is worried about you, but it's healthy to grieve. You don't have to always please others around you. Whether it's time alone or time spent looking at old photos, you need to dedicate time to feeling overwhelmed and grieving to accept the loss and find a new way of enjoying the holidays.

Host an Open House

Even with the loss of a loved one, you still have friends, neighbors, former coworkers, and more who would love to spend a little time with you during the holiday season. You can host an open house with set hours and invite everyone to stop by to visit. You can cook a meal or set out snacks for people to eat and visit for a little while.

Practice Self Care

It's two letters and one syllable: no. During your first holiday season alone, everyone is going to have the answer, and they're going to want to include you in their plans. It's okay to say no! You need to spend quiet time at home and ensure you get enough sleep each night. It's important that you eat right and take care of your needs instead of putting on a brave face for everyone else.

Do What You Love

Do you love cooking a big meal for the holidays? Have you always dreamed of making a dozen cookies for Santa and then eating them all yourself? During your first holiday alone, you should do what you love. It doesn't matter whether it's baking, cooking, reading a book, or watching old movies. You can go for walks or spend an afternoon bowling. Make plans to do something special for yourself and follow through on it.

Select Senior Helpers Lake St. Louis for a Helping Hand

You can make it through your first holiday season alone and begin to make new traditions with a little planning. If you need help during the holidays or throughout the year in Lake St. Louis, Bowling Green, or Warrenton, Senior Helpers Lake St. Louis is always ready to step up.