It’s okay if it’s not The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year…………
Christmas can be a difficult time of year, even without a worldwide pandemic.
The expectation of happiness can make any difficult or negative feelings we might have more heightened. Lots of us are spending Christmas day alone this year. This may feel tough, especially if it's not how you would choose to spend the day.
A recent MIND survey found that 17% of adults feel lonelier at Christmas, with 8% of us spending Christmas alone (potentially much more this year) Whether that’s because we're physically alone, or because we feel unable to connect with the people around us, it can be especially hard on the big day.
The thing is, you’re certainly not alone in feeling this way.
We hope that Upbeat Liverpool will help you to manage your emotions and feel less alone during the festive period, whether it be through relaxations, creativity or just by seeing friendly familiar faces. There are some practical tips from Nikki and Paddy on our Managing Your Emotions page which may help you to make Christmas a little easier. Feel free to give them a go, but don't put too much pressure on yourself.
Other support
There are events happening across Liverpool to ensure that people have something to get involved with on Christmas day. You can find out more information about these on our News page.
You'll also find a list of places to go to for guidance and support during this period, compiled by Liverpool City Council. The list is really helpful and includes support from volunteers, foodbanks and mental health support.
Whatever way you're spending Christmas, it's important to keep yourself and others safe. We've all been so careful at the centres, so let's collectively try to keep this up. If you choose to become part of a Christmas bubble, take care to limit your risk of infection, remember hands, face, space. Guidance around social bubbles can also be found on our News Page.
Timetables
As you can see from our timetable we're running most of our activities right up to Christmas Eve. Also, If you're a Wellbeing Centre member and you're feeling in need of a supportive chat in between Christmas and New Year you're welcome to call us during the times advertised.
Due to the relaxing of restrictions over Christmas, our January timetable is a little uncertain as we'll need to take extra precautions to keep everyone safe.
This means we'll be watching infection rates during the first week in January to decide if it's safe to re-open our buildings. Our Zoom sessions will continue as planned and we'll still be posting on Upbeat.
Most of team will be working from home from 4th January so if you find yourself struggling you can still get in touch with us on our mobiles or via the main line 0151-708-0415. We'll be keeping everyone updated and hopefully it won't be too long until we can all return to the activities we enjoy.
If this year has taught us anything it's that together we can get through the hardest of times.
So our Christmas Message is :to be gentle with yourself and others, reach out for help if you need it and keep safe.
All the very best everyone and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!
PSS Wellbeing Centres Team