The festive season isn’t always full of joy and happiness – how to get through it if you aren’t feeling it.
Christmas can be a time of celebration and spending time with the people we care about. But it can also bring its own pressure, debt, loneliness and bring up unhealed trauma and grief.
If you work in construction, Christmas can bring some additional challenges. Site shutdowns can mean losing several working days, particularly if you’re self-employed. Your usual routine might disappear overnight, and during the darkest months of the year, spending more time at home can leave you feeling isolated or low.
Whether you’re worried about money, feeling worn out after a long year, struggling with your mental health or simply need some time to reset, there are small things you can do to make the festive period feel more manageable.
And remember, however you’re feeling this Christmas, you don’t have to deal with it alone. Lighthouse Charity support is available 24/7 throughout the festive period, including Christmas Day.
Mood Check In Quiz
Before you explore the rest of this page, take a moment to see where you’re at. The holidays can stir up all kinds of emotions, some days feel light and festive, others more stressful or flat. However you are feeling, it helps to pause and notice what you need.
Take a minute to complete our short Mood Check-In Quiz to see where you are right now and find simple guidance based on your mood. Whether you need to slow down, reach out, or lift someone else’s spirits, there is always a small step you can take today.
Results
It sounds like things might feel heavy right now. You are not alone, and you do not need to face this on your own.
Our Helpline and Live Chat are here 24/7 for free, confidential support with emotional or financial worries. Whether you are struggling to make ends meet or just need someone to listen, we are always here.
Call 0345 605 1956 or use Live Chat any time.
You can also download our Self Support App for tools, advice, and wellbeing tips you can use privately at your own pace.
You might be juggling a lot at once, and that takes its toll. Remember that even a short pause can make a difference.
Take five minutes for yourself, step away from your phone, breathe deeply, or go for a walk. The world will wait while you take a moment to reset.
Visit our Wellbeing Academy for practical advice on managing stress, improving sleep, and maintaining balance.
And if things start to feel like too much, our Helpline is always available to talk things through.
You are keeping things together, and that is something to be proud of. Even when you are managing well, it is important to keep checking in with yourself and taking small steps to recharge.
Keep up your healthy routines, get enough rest, and stay connected to people who lift you up. Explore our Self Support App for bite-sized wellbeing reminders and tips to help you maintain your balance.
That is great to hear. If you are in a good place, you have the chance to spread that positivity to others.
Check in on a mate, share a kind word, or encourage your team to take a break together. Small gestures can make a big difference for someone who is struggling.
If you want to help further, consider organising a small fundraiser or awareness activity to support our wellbeing work across the construction community.
#1. How are you handling your workload and commitments?
#2. If you could give yourself one thing this Christmas, what would it be?
#3. How would you describe your energy levels?
#4. How are you sleeping?
#5. When was the last time you took a proper break for yourself?
#6. What helps you most when things get tough?
#7. What’s taking up most of your mental energy at the moment?
#8. What’s been hardest for you lately?
#9. How are you feeling as the holidays approach?
#10. How supported do you feel right now?
Managing Financial Pressure
Christmas can be expensive at the best of times. When your income isn’t guaranteed and you’re managing a cost of living crisis, those extra costs can feel even harder to manage.
MoneySuperMarket research estimates that the average UK household will spend £1,681.12 across Christmas, equivalent to 54% of estimated average monthly household income. That includes much more than presents, incorporating groceries, travel and household costs.
That figure includes £144.43 on groceries, £76.85 on festive drinks and £80.58 on travel expenses. Our advice is to communicate openly with your friends and family, set boundaries and expectations and do not place extra pressure on your wallet that you cannot afford. Set a budget for gifts and stick to it. If you can’t afford them, talk to your loved ones, most people would rather you spend within your means than go into debt for gifts.
Looking After Your Mental Health
You may be missing someone, dealing with family difficulties, worried about money or simply exhausted after a demanding year.
Christmas also brings an adde pressure to be happy. Social media can make it seem as though everyone else is having the perfect time, but that’s almost never the whole picture.
Gentle reminders for a calmer Christmas
- You don’t have to do everything: Saying no to an invitation isn’t letting anyone down.
- Don’t compare your Christmas to someone else’s:
- Keep talking: A five-minute conversation with a mate can make a big difference and communicating budgets and expectations can ease the burden you place on yourself.
- Give yourself permission to rest: You don’t need to fill every day with plans.
- Look after the basics: Food, sleep, fresh air and movement can all get forgotten when our routine changes.
- Be honest about how you’re feeling:
- Reach out: Asking for help is a positive step.
Coping With the Winter Blues
Cold mornings, dark evenings and much shorter days can affect how we feel.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that usually happens during winter. Symptoms can include low mood, losing interest in things you normally enjoy, difficulty concentrating, feeling more tired and sleeping or eating more than usual.
Things that may help
Try to keep some structure to your days, get outside during daylight hours where you can, stay active and remain connected with other people.
If you think you might have SAD, speak to your GP. The NHS lists treatments including talking therapies, antidepressants and light therapy, depending on individual circumstances.
Alcohol and the Festive Season
Christmas and drinking often go hand in hand, whether it’s the work Christmas party, meeting mates or having a few drinks at home.
For some people, having a drink can feel like a way of switching off when work stops or worries start building.
Try to notice how alcohol is affecting you rather than simply how much you’re drinking. Is it affecting your sleep? Your mood? Your relationships? Are you drinking because you’re enjoying yourself, or because you’re trying not to think about something?
Having alcohol-free days, alternating alcoholic drinks with soft drinks and making plans that don’t revolve around drinking are all small ways of giving yourself a break.
And if you’re worried about your drinking, you don’t have to wait for things to get worse before asking for support.
Missing Someone This Christmas?
Christmas can make someone’s absence feel much more noticeable.
If you’ve lost someone, experienced a relationship breakdown or aren’t able to be with the people you’d normally spend Christmas with, it’s okay if the festive period doesn’t feel the same.
You don’t have to celebrate in the way you always have and you don’t have to pretend you’re okay for somebody else’s benefit.
Make Christmas what you need it to be this year.
And if you need somebody outside your family or friends to talk to, we’re here.
Starting the New Year Well
January can come around quickly.
Suddenly the alarm is going off again, the site is reopening and normal life starts up after a couple of weeks without your usual routine.
You don’t need to start the year with a list of resolutions or completely reinvent yourself.
Start small.
Get your sleep routine back on track. Take another look at your finances. Get moving again. Speak to the people you’ve missed. Deal with the things you’ve been putting off one at a time.
And if something was difficult before Christmas, don’t assume you have to carry it into another year.
Support is available.
Need to Talk?
You never have to face the holidays alone.
If you or someone you know in the construction community is struggling with emotional, physical or financial wellbeing, Lighthouse Charity offers free and confidential support.
And this Christmas, we’re still here.
Download our ‘Coping During the Holiday Season‘ assets, including graphics and social media copy.
