Christmas and mental health

There can be extra pressures on your money at Christmas. There can be things like Christmas meals, presents, and nights out to pay for.  

Mental health and money are closely linked. There are some simple steps you can take to manage your money.

How can I budget properly? 

Setting a budget for the week or month can be helpful. This means looking at:

• how much money you have coming in, and 
• how much money you need to spend on bills and other things like:  
  
  • Gas and electricity bills.
  • Council tax.
  • Mortgage or rent .
  • Paying things like loans, credit cards, or overdrafts.
  • Shopping.

Our Mental Health and Money Advice Service have useful information on budgeting on their website.  They also have a budget planner to help you.  

• It can help to plan, and not leave things to the last minute. 
• It is important to set a budget you can afford and try to stick to it. 
• Make a list of the things that want to buy during the Christmas period. Like party food, outfits and gifts, to get an estimate of cost. This will help you budget.  

Some other tips for budgeting your money over the Christmas period: 

• Compare prices at different shops or on internet sites 
• Look online for discount codes  

Can I return an item after I have bought it? 

• After you have bought an item think about if you have stuck to your budget. It can be easy to overspend. 
• After you have bought something, you might be able to return it and get your money back. 
• Over the Christmas period some retailers give an extended returns period on items. 
• The returns policy will often be found on the receipt or the retailer’s website.  
• Keep tags and receipts intact, in case you need to return items. 

You can get more information on your rights about Changing your mind about something you have bought from the Citizens Advice website. 

What is jam jar budgeting? 

• Jam-jar budgeting is a way of managing your money. 
• You do it by splitting your money into different pots. 
• These pots can be real or virtual, like in a one bank account, or different bank accounts. 
• It helps you see how much money you spend on these things. 
• You can label these pots to cover different expenses, such as:
  
  • Shopping
  • Bills  
  • Saving
  • Christmas  

There are 3 main ways to do jam-jar budgeting:

1. Using real jam jars or something else to put cash in
2. Having more than one bank account to split money
3. Open a jam-jar bank account

You can find more information on Jam jar budgeting from the Money Advice Hub.

Why should I avoid pay day loans and loan sharks? 

What are pay day loans? 
Pay day loans are one that you have for a short time. They are usually for smaller amount of money, like a few hundred pounds.

You might find it easy to get a payday loan. But interest rates can be very high. So, you might find it hard to pay it back.  If you cannot pay it back on time, charges can be added on top of the interest. You can quickly get into a lot of debt.

There might be other ways to help with short term money issues. Like borrowing from a credit union, an overdraft with your bank, or help from your local authority. 

You can find more information on pay day loans, and alternatives to them, from Citizens Advice.

If you have taken out a payday loan and you need advice, see ‘how can I get debt advice?’ below.

What are loans sharks?
A loan shark is an illegal money lender. They often charge very high interest rates, so people find it difficult to pay the money back.

We strongly advise you not to borrow money from a loan shark.

Loan sharks often offer you cash loans without paperwork. They might act friendly to begin with, and you might be tempted to trust them. But they might threaten you if you fall behind on your payments.

This short video from Stop Loan Sharks tells you How to spot a loan shark.

You can find more information on loan sharks from our Mental Health and Money Advice website. It includes what to do if you have borrowed money from a loan shark.

How can I get debt advice? 

If you need free, expert, advice on debt, you can contact:

• National Debtline 
• StepChange 
• Debt Advice Foundation 
• Money Wellness 

For more advice and information on debt see the Mental Health and Money Advice website.

How can I get benefits advice? 

You might be able to apply for new welfare benefits. Or if you are already on welfare benefits, get more income from them.

You can get free, expert, advice from:

• Money Wellness 
• Citizens Advice 
• Mind welfare benefits line 
• Turn2Us advice finder  - Choose ‘benefits’ from the drop-down menu and put in your postcode. 

For more advice and information on welfare benefits see the Mental Health and Money Advice website.

Many people enjoy social events like family get-togethers and festive parties over the Christmas period. 

But others can find social events difficult. Some might be overwhelmed by lots of them. 

Things to think about can be:

• If you feel uncomfortable going to an event, do you have to go? If it will be too much or exhaust or upset you, can you say ‘no’?
• Think about which events you do and do not want to go to.
• Are you able to leave an event early, if that works for you?  
• Can a trusted person support you going to an event?
• What things can you do to prepare yourself to feel more comfortable and relaxed before the event?
• What things can you do to manage how you are feeling following the event? Such as go to sleep, meditate, or talk to an emotional support line. 
• What events are good for your wellbeing and which ones might not be.
• If going to see people face to face is difficult for you, can you arrange an online chat or event?

If you do not go to events, then think about what works for you instead. You can make time for friends you enjoy being with. Or doing things you love like painting, crafting, or getting outdoors.

For more information see our webpages on the following:

• Physical activity and mental health
• Social inclusion and mental illness - How can I become more connected
• Stress - How to cope

Sometimes relationships with people in our life can be complicated. This can be more so over the Christmas period, with different added pressures.

One of those pressures might be to see family members or other people we find it difficult being with.  

If you have mental health issues, you might find aspects of the Christmas period difficult. But you might find it hard to talk to your family about this.

Here are some tips:

• There might be people that you see during the Christmas period who you find hard to be with. You might see them through habit, or because you think you should do. Think about if you really want or need to. 
• Others might pressure you into seeing people that you find hard to be with. You can think about talking to the ones who pressure you about how you feel, and why you feel that way. It might help to plan what you are going to say to begin with.
• If you have to see people who you find hard to be with, think about boundaries. Like, how long do you spend with them, and where you meet them.
• You might find aspects of the Christmas period difficult because of your mental health. But your family might not know about your mental health issues. If you want to talk to them about it, you can see this advice and information on the Mind website. 
• Planning your Christmas period schedule well in advance could help to avoid any relationship disagreements later.
• You can read the Mental Health Foundation’s Guide to investing in your relationships 
• If you have a partner, it is important to maintain a healthy relationship with them. Ways to do this can be:

• • Give time
  • Be present for each other
  • Listen to each other
  • Share thought and feelings

If you are living with grief, the Christmas period can be extra hard. Also, even if a loved one died quite a while ago, it might bring back feelings of grief.

For more information on how to deal with grief, see our page on Grief and bereavement support – Mental health help and how to get help.

For more details of pet bereavement charities see our information on Animals and your mental health - How they can support your wellbeing and recovery?

You might feel loneliness if you are:

• on your own, or
• with a loved one or ones but you do not share the same interests or values as them.

Loneliness is a common experience for people with or without a mental illness. 

For some, the Christmas period can make feelings of loneliness feel worse. There can be many reminders of family gatherings and social events through the media and advertisements.  

Try to be kind to yourself. Loneliness is something many of us go through. It is a common experience and not a reflection of who you are as a person.

If you live with a mental illness and you feel lonely, making connections is not always easy. But it can help to: 

• Tell someone you trust how you are feeling 
• Use social media or video calls in a safe way to chat to others
• Attend an online workshop or course to meet like-minded people
• Talk to your GP about local peer support groups and talking therapies
• Reconnect with friends or family over text message, phone call or writing a letter

If your mental illness is leaving you isolated from others, it can be useful to connect with the world in other ways: 

• Spend time in nature
• Express yourself through writing or art 
• Volunteer for a local charity organisation 
• Start conversations with people in your community 
• If you can, take up a hobby that will get you out of your home

It can be good to stick to a routine, doing things are good for your mental health, at set times. It can give your day a sense of purpose and drive. Like exercising in the morning, seeing a friend or going for a walk in the afternoon. Structuring your day can help limit loneliness.  

You can read more advice and information About loneliness on Mind’s website.

You can find more information about Coping with loneliness at Christmas from Bupa.

For more information, see our webpage on Social inclusion and mental illness - How can I become more connected?

You might be worried about your own mental health over the Christmas period. It might be starting to affect your day-to-day life.

See our following advice and information, for things you can do to get help and support. This includes seeing your GP and self-help:

• GPs and your mental health
• Worried about your mental health? How to get help and treatment - This includes self-help advice
• Stress - How to cope
• Self-harm
• Suicidal thoughts - How to cope
• Drugs, alcohol and mental health

If you want to talk to trained listeners about how you are feeling, see our I want to talk to someone about how I am feeling webpage.

You might need urgent help for your mental health. Urgent help and support is available over the Christmas period.

You can:

• call NHS 111, option 2, where you can access urgent mental health support services. Or use the NHS 111 website  

See our Get help now hub for more urgent mental health help and support options. 

If you want to talk to trained listeners about how you are feeling, see our I want to talk to someone about how I am feeling webpage.

You might be worried about a loved one's mental health over the Christmas period.

For advice and information please see our webpages on:

• Worried about someone's mental health?
• Getting help for someone in a mental health crisis
• Suicidal thoughts - How to support someone

The Christmas period can be an extra difficult time for people who live with eating disorders.  This is because a big part of a lot of celebrations is food.  

There is a pressure to be in a happy and relaxed mood.  But if you have an eating disorder, this can be challenging. 

The eating disorder charity Beat have published Five questions you might have about Christmas with an eating disorder.

It contains lots of useful advice and information on coping with the Christmas period if you live with an eating disorder.

See our webpage for more information on eating disorders.