With this holiday season coming around, a lot of people are experiencing anxiety about returning home. Whether it be anxiety about seeing old high school peers or seeing different family members for such long periods of time, there are many feelings that may arise.
Personally, I have felt more anxiety now coming home than ever before. As a result, I have formulated some tips to make my experience at home more pleasant. Hopefully these methods of coping with hometown anxiety will help you as well.
Get a job
Getting a seasonal job around the holidays is one of the most helpful tips I have. You may meet new friends to hang out with outside of work.
Additionally, working can help you feel productive outside of school work. Feeling a sense of accomplishment may limit the amount of anxiety you have. Working during the holidays also just gets you out of the house from time to time, which helps you make the most of the time you have at home.
Working also gives you some more pocket money to spend once you get back to college.
Make plans *before* heading back home
With my friends from home, I always try to make pre-established plans before we even leave our respective colleges. This helps ensure I will have things to do when I start to feel anxious at home.
Some of my favorite things my friends and I do are to go on hikes, look at the historic houses in my hometown, and to go holiday shopping. Solid plans help me feel less anxious about going home.
Be honest about it
Talking about my anxiety also helps the holiday season go easier. Making sure that my family and friends have been thoroughly updated about the positive and negative moments of the semester is very important. When these people have a full understanding of my perspective, they can adjust to it accordingly.
Getting these feelings off my chest also helps me feel better overall. This can be very difficult to do for some people though, so do not feel pressured into telling people your feelings. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable, but I would recommend being honest to some extent.
Work out
Working out is a great activity to do when feeling anxious. The endorphins that are released from exercising will help boost your confidence. Going to the gym will help you get out of your house for a little bit, so it will be a good outlet to get some peace and quiet.
When I workout to combat my anxiety, I just put on my favorite podcast and use the elliptical. This me-time helps me calm down a lot.
Organize
Organizing is one of my most prominent coping mechanisms when dealing with anxiety. Over the holidays, choose a junk drawer or a messy linen closet to clean out. I always enjoy organizing because it gives me a sense of purpose, and I love knowing my parents are appreciative of the work I have done.
Hometown anxiety is very difficult to deal with. I hope that these tips can help make your holiday season more enjoyable for you and the people you surround yourself with.