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Writer's pictureCarron Huggett

What if Christmas Impacts on a Deaf persons Mental Health?


Christmas is not always part of everyone’s life, so your mental health might be affected by it happening around you. Christmas is a time of year that can put extra stress on us, and can affect our mental health in lots of different ways. For example, if you: • Feel alone or left out because you are deaf and everyone else around you are chatting and you are not fully included in the conversation • Feel alone when everyone seems happy when you're not • Wish you didn't have to follow Christmas traditions, or find it stressful because of other events happening in your life • Feel upset by other people's views of how a 'perfect' Christmas should be, if these feel different to your experiences • Have ideas about what Christmas should be like, feel as if you have to enjoy it or worry something will ruin it • Feel like Christmas gives you something to concentrate on and look forward to, and find it difficult when Christmas is over • Want to celebrate with someone who's struggling . Lost a loved one or split from a relationship/marriage ‘Listening to or watching other people's exciting plans makes me feel sad and jealous as I don't have all those great relationships in my life.’ The Christmas season could affect your mental health in other ways too. For example: • Your mental health issues might make it hard for you to spend Christmas how you want to. • Difficult and stressful events at Christmas could make your mental health worse. Enjoying Christmas might also affect your mental health, for example if it triggers hypomania or mania. o Hypomania and mania are periods of over-active and excited behaviour that can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life. o Hypomania is a milder version of mania that lasts for a short period (usually a few days) o Mania is a more severe form that lasts for a longer period (a week or more) • It can be harder to access services for deaf people. Some of these services may be closed during the Christmas period. • Your usual routines may be changed which might make it harder to manage your mental health. • Your experiences during the Covid Pandemic may have affected how you feel about this Christmas. • If you celebrate other religious festivals or holidays instead of Christmas, you may feel ignored. It might feel like Christmas is given special attention. • New Year can also be a difficult time. It can make us look back at tough memories or worry about what might happen in the new year. We might also reflect on our lives, and regret things we haven't achieved. What Carron PA Support offers: 1:1 Support, face to face or remote via Zoom or WhatsApp Befriending Support Emotional Support Listening ears (eyes!) Signpost or referrals to other specialist services such as GP, Hospital, SignHealth and any others that may be able to help you. If you need support this Christmas you can contact me by email only carron@pasupport.co.uk, I will be open on 19th December 21st December 22nd December 30th December But you can email at any time if it is urgent, and I will respond.


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