It’s time to say goodbye to 2019, and usher in the New Year…

Over the next few weeks, you may notice that My Care Academy seems a little more quiet than usual, as we will be busy wrapping up and recovering our energy ready for what the New Year will bring. Between now and then, we wanted to leave you with five top tips to help you through the festive season:

1.  Remember that for many people – both service users and service providers – the winter holiday can be one of the most stressful events of the year. This can be due to the expense of buying gifts, the pressure of last-minute shopping and the expectations that when families come together it will be a happy time.
2. If you can help support service users to write down their worries and the obligations they feel that they have, it can help reduce impulsive decisions. Planning how to manage money can be crucial at this point because, inevitably, we will all see a huge number of advertisements whose messages imply that spending is required for feelings of acceptance and belonging over the next few weeks.
3. A recent bereavement, or the anniversary of a bereavement during the festive season, could make the next few weeks even more of a challenge. It might help to try doing something different to your usual tradition, such as volunteering over the holiday time, to give you a different perspective.
4. It may be helpful for service users if you support them to try and work through any family issues before any planned get-togethers. This is much more easily said than done, however, it could alleviate the build-up of anxiety before any scheduled family gatherings and make those days more bearable.
5. If you or your service users are anticipating any time without your usual support network around, it might be useful now to plan in advance some coping strategies for dealing with any emergencies. Also, ensure that you have key contact details readily available in case they are needed.

A final thought:

If you are throwing any events for service users, remember that they may be of different faiths or celebrate different holidays to yourself. Inclusive events enable all service users to use the celebration for whatever they wish to reflect on at this time of year – for some it may be Christmas, for others it may be Chanukah, and for others, it may simply be the changing of the seasons and the crisp winter air.

We will still be checking Twitter and staying in the loop – but please be aware that it may take us some time to respond to any enquiries until the start of the new year.

In the meantime, we wish you all the best and a season full of festive cheer!