The holiday season is a joyful and happy time of year, but it can also bring a lot of additional stress. The pressure to plan the perfect holiday party, decorate your home, and be merry around friends, family members, and other loved ones can be emotionally exhausting. While this can be enough to cause stress and anxiety for anyone, if you’ve also recently lost a loved one, the holiday season may make you feel like isolating yourself until the new year arrives.

Feeling this way is completely normal, but you may realize that this is the time when you need the extra support that only your closest friends and family members can provide. Even though this time of year will be different, you can recreate your holiday traditions to celebrate and honor your loved one’s memory.

The Pavilion Senior Living offers senior living services throughout Tennessee, and we want to help you get through this first challenging holiday season. To do this, we are sharing ways to help you celebrate the holidays after a loss of a loved one.

Give Yourself Time to Grieve

We all experience grief in our own way, and there is no right or wrong way to go through this process. There is also no “right” amount of time that it should take to heal. Give yourself grace and allow yourself the time you need to grieve.

Many individuals feel guilty throughout the grieving process for either feeling like they have not gotten over their loss quickly enough or for feeling happy when they think they should only be sad. Remember that this journey is personal to you, and you should not feel guilty for any of your emotions.

This process will get easier over time. Give yourself permission to take your time through this grieving process and experience whatever emotions it brings.

Participate in Family Gatherings

After the loss of a loved one, it is common to want to retreat inward and be alone. While this can be helpful at times, this is not always the answer, and too much alone time can have adverse effects on our mental health.

Many of us feel pressure to be upbeat and joyful around the holiday season, and if we do not feel happy, we think it is best to simply stay home. However, your friends and family understand that this is a difficult time for you and know that you may not feel like your usual self. They want you to be there so they can offer their support.

Revamp Your Holiday Traditions

Who says holiday traditions cannot be modified, especially if it is to honor and incorporate your loved one? Even though your loved one may not physically be with you this holiday season, that does not mean you cannot celebrate with them and honor their memory.

Make it a point to reinvent or honor the holiday traditions you and your loved one shared. If one does not come to mind, you could even start or create a new holiday tradition in your loved one’s memory.

For instance, if you choose to attend holiday parties or gatherings with family members, share stories about your loved one during past holidays, or bake one of their favorite holiday dishes. Additionally, you could volunteer your time at an organization that meant a lot to them or make a donation in their name.

However you choose to honor your loved one and revamp your holiday traditions, remember to reflect on the good memories you have created with them over the years.

We all experience grief and loss in our own way, but the important thing to remember is that it will get easier over time. The first holiday season after a loss is always the most difficult one, but if you can find new ways to incorporate and honor your loved one’s memory, they will always be there with you to celebrate.

If you would like to learn more about our senior living communities in Tennessee and how we celebrate the holiday season with residents, visit our website or contact a member of The Pavilion Senior Living team.