This article originally appeared in Psychology Today.
As we approach our first holiday season with increased engagement in social activities since the COVID-19 pandemic, this is not the time to return to the old normal ways you dealt with the holidays. No doubt, it feels more comfortable to pick up where you left off in the 2019 holiday season, especially as holidays are rich with family, friends, religious, national, and cultural traditions. However, it’s time to create new traditions that prioritize your health and the health of others including a committed focus on mental wellness.
It’s time for you to fully understand that part of the pandemic demise on a personal level was the disregard some societies had for healthcare and a chronic unwillingness to practice self-awareness. American popular culture has saturated the globe and filled the space formerly occupied by British and European colonial culture and its ideologies of monarchies, excessive wealth, and resource hoarding. This belief system caused a massive disregard for global health and global actions that supported the focus on outward appearance and wealth over mental health, physical health, and meaningful, purposeful living.