Mental Health over Christmas: Catrin

The Christmas and New Year period often involves pressure to indulge in wintery food or engage in New Year's Resolution health kicks. Catrin explains how she provides herself support and stability through difficult times in eating disorder recovery.

- Catrin Haberfield

1. What do you enjoy most about the winter holiday period?

More than anything, I love the distinct sensory aspects of Christmas: the smell of the tree in the lounge, how bright everything seems when it has snowed, and the smoky warmth of the house filled with candles. It�s crazy how certain smells or tastes trigger such specific memories or feelings of comfort and warmth and family. 

2. What do you find most difficult during the holidays?

Food is always more stressful for me at home than at university, and the winter period is definitely the hardest. Since I�m semi-catered at uni, I have structure imposed upon me for my meals; I have lunch at 12:30p and dinner at 6pm. At home, it�s entirely down to me to stick to a reasonable meal plan, not to restrict or binge or engage in any other disordered behaviour. To make matters worse, keywords like �binge�, �treat�, �cheat� come hand in hand with Christmas festivities, while both companies and individuals use the New Year as an excuse to reinforce diet culture. Everyone, from friends to family to social media, is banging on about being �naughty� for eating �bad� food, or lamenting the loss of their �summer bod�. It�s chaos. Food is not inherently good or bad; it just is. Ascribing value to certain foods and placing more worth on smaller bodies is such a toxic way to view the world, and it�s almost impossible to avoid situations involving food at Christmas.

3. Taking some time out from all the festivities to look after yourself can be really helpful. What do you do to help your mental health during the holidays?

My best friend and I make a point to always be there for each other, and Christmas is no exception. If family time gets too much then I can just pop into my room and call her, and the same goes for her. I also try to find a balance between work, rest, and socialising � the latter two definitely aren�t the same thing! I have a massive amount of work this holiday, and I know I�m useless at working in the morning, so I try to take mornings off and work in the afternoons. 

4. What present would you give yourself over the holidays?

I�d give myself two gifts. Firstly, I�d clear out my entire wardrobe and donate all the clothes that don�t fit me anymore. There are some clothes that I still hold on to on the off chance that they�ll ever fit me again, though I know they never will. Donating them is one way to completely let go of the old, smaller, disordered me. The second gift I�d give myself would be some decent headphones; listening to music lifts my mood, but I know that when my depression gets worse I tend to isolate myself. I bought myself a Spotify subscription three months ago and listening to music on a regular basis has already made an amazing difference to my mood.

5. What are your New Year�s Resolutions?

I know that New Year�s Resolutions can be helpful for a lot of people, but I don�t believe that you need to wait for a new year to make a change. Even when you have a bad day, you don�t have to wait for tomorrow � you can restart your day at any point. I guess that if I had to have a New Year�s Resolution, it would be to continue the upward trajectory I�ve been on for the past few months. Recovery isn�t a straight line � it�s more like a scatter graph, and I want to keep the correlation positive.

Hi folks! I'm Catrin, a third year Medieval English Language and Literature student at Somerville College, Oxford. I've always been super vocal when it comes to mental health; I love pushing boundaries and challenging people's assumptions about mental illness. I live with mental illness, so I know how much both the illnesses and the stigma can affect your life, as well as the lives of others. I'm incredibly excited to be a Sub-Editor for Student Minds, and I can't wait to help other people share their stories!

Mental Health over Christmas: Tazmin

It can be hard to put yourself first sometimes, especially at Christmas. Tazmin talks about how she prioritises self-care, and deals with the pressures of gift-giving.

- Tazmin

1.  What do you enjoy most about the winter holiday period?

I love that it gives you a chance to connect with the people in your life, friends and family alike, who you may not have seen in a while. I always find that it�s the perfect time to catch up with old friends from school and college, and make new memories with your family. It�s also an opportunity to slow down from the busy world, which can get busier during the winter holidays, and connect with yourself � relax inside, cosy up with a good book or movie and have some time with you. It�s a very cosy period of time and there�s nothing better than a warm snuggle with yourself.

2.  What do you find most difficult during the holidays?

I find the pressure of the festivities slightly overwhelming in terms of finances and expectations. I struggled with money all through university and even though I�ve just graduated this is still no exception. Being surrounded by advertisements, Christmas markets, even daily emails surging into my inbox, I can feel a great deal of pressure to buy gifts for the people I love. I also feel like I�m a bad person if I don�t � but for someone who is in a difficult financial situation and trying to get out of it, this added stress must be ignored and put to one side. I try to remind myself that there�s more to this festive period than gifts and if the people in my life fail to understand that, it speaks more of them and nothing of me. This holiday is about spending time with people you love, playing in the snow like children again, laughing and enjoying the company of yourself. Spend time to reflect on the year and all you have achieved, rather than thinking you�ve come up short.

3.  Taking some time out from all the festivities to look after yourself can be really helpful. What do you do to help your mental health during the holidays?

The world is a busy place, especially during university, and there are always so many deadlines fast approaching or just flying straight past. Friends to see and catch up with, and family engagements to participate in. But sometimes it�s nice � and necessary � to have some time out: sit back, get cosy, and enjoy being you for a little bit. It can be truly uplifting for your well-being to be surrounded by people who you care for and love, but I�ve often found that once you�re on your own again the contrast can bring you down. Make time to bond with yourself in the ways that make you happy; like I�ve said before, I make friends with myself by getting cosy after a good day and spending the evening along with a great movie that I love, usually The Muppets Christmas Carol!

4.  What present would you give yourself over the holidays?

I think the gift I would give to myself over the holidays is a meditative retreat somewhere beautiful in the world such as Spirit Rock in California; a chance to spend some time with myself, heal, and go on an adventure to see another part of this wonderful world.

6.  What are your New Year�s Resolutions?

I understand the concept of New Year�s resolutions, that they can motivate people to change their lives or lifestyle for the better in the next year ahead. However, I make new resolutions whenever I feel the need for them to be made. I think waiting for the New Year to make a resolution prevents it from really coming true. If there�s something in your life you want to change, never wait � just do it. For example, if you are a smoker and say you�re going to quit smoking in the New Year, don�t carry the bad habit on until then, just start quitting now. Waste no time waiting. Do what needs to be done to ensure you�re happy now and for the future.


If you would like to get involved in our Christmas blogging series, you can find all of the details here.

Hey everyone, I�m Taz. My journey suffering with depression and anxiety has been and can continue to be a difficult one; but I would not be who I am today had I not accepted my illness and work hard to get better. I have recently graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a First in Film and Media Production. I�ve been writing my blog Awareness for over two years and it has been truly rewarding for me. I write about the things many people fear talking about � our wonderfully complex minds. I wish to encourage anyone suffering through university and offer them a helping hand. Happy reading.

Mental Health over Christmas: Emily

As part of our Christmas blogging series, Emily Maybanks talks about the things she likes to do to relax and keep herself emotionally healthy during the Winter months.

- Emily Maybanks

1. What do you enjoy most about the winter holiday period?

I particularly enjoy writing Christmas cards for my friends and wrapping Christmas presents. I also love going home to spend time with my family and having cuddles with my cat, Marmite. There is a lot of good television at Christmastime, and I love curling up in front of the TV to watch the Christmas episode of EastEnders, or Call The Midwife, whilst reading a good book or doing some writing. 

2. What do you find most difficult during the holidays?

I always find it difficult to cope with my mental health during the winter, especially since my Dad passed away in 2012. Celebrating Christmas has felt slightly weird ever since. In the winter, I tend to find myself feeling more emotional, tearful, exhausted, and lethargic, as well as being less able to cope with University work and becoming physically ill with colds much more easily. 

3. Taking some time out from all the festivities to look after yourself can be really helpful. What do you do to help your mental health during the holidays?

I really love to write and I find it therapeutic, so I try to do as much writing as possible, as well as making sure that I meet up with friends while I�m home for Christmas. This year, I think I�ll be even more fortunate that Ill have the distraction of creating content for my University�s newspaper, for which I am both the Deputy Editor and Creative Writing Section Editor.

4. What present would you give yourself over the holidays?

Over the holidays, I think I would give myself some time to myself to really relax. Especially because I am in my final year of University and it has been a little intense and stressful at times during this semester. 

5. Anything advice for other students?

Christmas can be a really difficult time for many students for a wide range of reasons and that�s okay; make sure to give yourself a break, it can be more helpful to you in the long run.


If you would like to get involved in our Christmas blogging series, you can find all of the details here.

My name is Emily (Em). I am currently in my final year studying Modern Languages, Translation & Interpreting at Swansea University, where I'm also the Creative Writing Section Editor and Deputy Editor for The Waterfront - Swansea's student newspaper. I wanted to write for Student Minds because I have experienced depression and anxiety as well as other health issues, and I support friends who have also experienced mental health difficulties. I am also a passionate writer and writing has been important in my mental health experiences - both in helping me to cope with my mental health, as well as sharing my story in order to help others.

Mental Health over Christmas: Michael

Christmas can be a tough time of year when struggling with a mental illness, notably the pressure to 'happy'. Michael talks about how he looks after his mental health during the christmas holiday period.

- Michael

1. What do you enjoy most about the winter holiday period?

Everyone tends to come home for Christmas so I love catching up with friends and family that I don�t see that much during the year. I also enjoy the bit between Christmas and New Year where it is pretty much universally acceptable not to do much uni work, no matter how many assignments or exams you have to go back to in the new term.

2. What do you find most difficult during the holidays?

I think one of the most difficult things I find about Christmas (as ridiculous as it sounds), is the relentless pressure to HAVE LOTS OF FUN AND BE REALLY HAPPY!!! Everywhere you go, there is an expectation to celebrate Christmas and New Year in a certain way, all with lots of people. It is easy to feel very lonely and inadequate if you can�t live up to this, especially once exposed to all the photos, videos and programmes on social media of people being endlessly happy and seeming to have lots of fun together. If you are finding things quite difficult, this can also make it awkward to reach out for help and support. It can feel like there is no one to talk to, that everyone is too busy or that you will only drag them down. Uni friends might be miles away and most specialist support services are unavailable from home or closed over Christmas.

3. Taking some time out from all the festivities to look after yourself can be really helpful. What do you do to help your mental health during the holidays?

The winter holidays can be a pretty difficult time for students because there is often a lot of uni work (or paid work) to do before you go back. It can be difficult to balance everything and look after yourself at the same time. I find it really important to find time by myself, away from the family, for something other than work (even just listening to music works for me). Having said this, of course spend time with friends and family and talk to people about how you are feeling; Samaritans run a text or email service over Christmas. And I always try to make sure that even though my daily routine is a bit different over the holidays, I still get plenty of sleep and exercise.

4. What present would you give yourself over the holidays?

That I can�t really answer this question perhaps suggests that the present I really need to give myself is greater self-awareness of how to look after myself.

5. To conclude:

The winter holidays can, from my own experience, be a trigger point and a particularly difficult time if you are feeling depressed or alone. Please try to keep an eye out for the signs that someone else might be struggling. Be patient and sensitive if they seem a bit down and try to make yourself available to chat if/when they need it. Even just a smile could be enough to make a big difference.

If you would like to get involved in our Christmas blogging series, you can find all of the details here

"Hi, I'm Michael. I'm currently a prospective PhD student at Durham University and wanted to write for Student Minds about my own experiences of depression, anxiety and university life."

Mental Health over Christmas: Hope Virgo

Hope Virgo, as part of our Mental Health Over the Holidays blogging series, encourages us to slow down over this winter holiday period. 

-Hope Virgo

Although Christmas time can be a lot of fun, it can also be an incredibly tough time of the year too. Therefore, we want to bring this to light and ensure nobody feels alone.

What do you enjoy most about the winter holiday period?

The holiday period allows me to switch off and rest. This is something I really struggle with most of the year when I dash from place to place, pushing myself further and further to the edge. But Christmas gives me time to restock and recharge my batteries. What is great about Christmas is that I don�t get the normal guilt I feel when I slow down as I know everyone else is doing the same. I absolutely love allowing myself to relax. Giving myself lazy mornings in bed, time laying on the sofa and the slower pace of life.

What do you find most difficult during the holidays?

The food - although this has been much less of a problem over the years and I feel more able to relax around it. But there is still some general anxiety. �Will I eat too much?� �Will I have enough?� 

All these questions flood through my brain and I have to use techniques I learnt when I was in treatment to calm my mind. The thing that I have found really helps is to talk. I will tell those who I am with for Christmas if it is getting to be too much for me. The other thing I do is reassure myself that I don�t have to eat all the food that is there. Yes, when there is so much food around it panics me, but no one is making me eat it all and I can now trust myself to have the right amount.

Anorexia shouldn�t ruin my Christmas anymore!

Taking some time out from all the festivities to look after yourself can be really helpful. What do you do to help your mental health during the holidays?

On Christmas day I always make sure that I go for a walk on my own just for 30 minutes or so to get out and about. It gives me time to reflect on the day and to think about how far I have come in my recovery. For me it is really important to have that little bit of me time. 

What present would you give yourself over the holidays?

Shellac � this is one of my favourite self-care activities. A pricey but good treat. For me, when I am struggling with my mental health the first things I stop doing are washing my hair and painting my nails etc. As I find Christmas stressful sometimes it is important to put me first and give myself an incentive to take care of myself.

Reflecting on last year:

Something that hit me last year at Christmas was the support on social media that I receive. It was the evening of Christmas Day when I posted a tweet:

�Congrats to all who have had/ have an ?#eatingdisorder? for surviving Xmas! if you are stressing tomorrow ?@beatED? helpline is open from 4-8PM�

I was congratulating the 725,000 in the UK with eating disorders, and the millions of people around the world who were fighting their own mental health issues. I was amazed at the responses I got, and I felt blessed that there were so many people uniting across the world. Millions of strangers standing together to fight the stigma of mental health issues and supporting everyone who might be struggling. I know that social media can be dangerous at times and that people can use it in the wrong way. But posting that tweet reminded me of the amazing support I get on twitter from some incredible people.

I feel confident that this Christmas I can relax that little bit more, get that little bit less anxious about the food. Each year is a step further forward to beating anorexia and not letting it ruin Christmas.  If you are struggling I wish you the best of luck this Christmas and remember to take care and treat yourself!


If you would like to get involved in our Christmas blogging series, you can find all of the details here.

Hope Virgo suffered with anorexia for over four years before being admitted to hospital in 2007. She lived in the hospital for a year, fighting one of the hardest battles of her life. Since being discharged, she has fought to stay well. Hope Virgo Hope recently published her book; Stand Tall Little Girl.  She now wants to use her experiences of mental illness to champion the rights of others, inspire them to get well, and to help break the stigma of mental health difficulties. You can see what she is up to here.

Why seeking help now is vital

A positive message about seeking help at university (from experience), and why you shouldn't give up on your dreams.

- Mai Behmber

Hi, reader! My name is Mai, I am a bioscience student at Swansea University, and this is my story of how I attempted to make my way through university without seeking help to manage my mental illness.

From as far back as I can remember, I have had an obsession with the sea and all its creatures. I have killer whale, dolphin and even octopus cuddly toys from when I was little, and more books about the sea than I can count. But I have also, for many years, experienced a heaviness that I couldn�t quite explain. I can only say that it feels like a black hole in my chest that varies daily in size. Some days, it completely sucks me in, and all I can do is lie helplessly in bed. Other days, it�s tiny and barely noticeable. The black hole was still very much with me when I started university in September 2016. I was, as I am now, on a foundation biology course to then go on to do a degree in marine biology. In doing this, I am working towards my lifelong goal of becoming a marine biologist.

Before coming to university, I had been in treatment for a year trying to recover from my undiagnosed mental illness. However, about a month in, and a second medication change later, I stopped attending lectures as my paranoia grew worse and the black hole became completely overwhelming. I felt scared and alone. My thoughts were no longer safe, and I couldn�t escape to dreamland as my mind felt plagued. Instead of reaching out for help, I tried to combat it myself. I didn�t open up to my parents, I didn�t seek counselling. All I did was ask for another medication change. Although being on the correct medication is an important step to some people�s recovery, it isn�t complete without the help of your family, friends and professionals.

Halfway through the academic year, the head of course called me in and told me that the university felt it was best for me to suspend my studies, and to try again the following year. At first, I was devastated. I thought I had messed up my future and my dream career. Thinking about not going to university made me feel like I had no future. Then the university let me know that they had no doubt about me being able to achieve getting my degree. This gave me hope that I still had a shot at getting everything I ever wanted.

Suspending was the best decision that could possibly have been made, as it gave me a chance to seek the help I truly needed. During the six months away from university, I managed to find the right combination of medication and counselling with the help of my family.

I have restarted the foundation year and I couldn�t be doing better. My grades are great, my attendance is what it should be, my family are in the know with what is going on in my head, and the university have, in the best way possible, wrapped me in bubble wrap. It feels as if the black hole is still there but other people are helping me keep it manageable. There�s no way I can fall backwards without someone catching me, and for the first time in years I feel confident and supported. I am overwhelmed with the support I have been able to get from the university. I couldn�t be in a safer place.

Hi, I�m Mai! I am a bioscience student at Swansea University, and suffer from an undiagnosed mental illness. I wanted to write a blog for Student Minds to let students know that they�re not alone in

their difficulties.

Mental Health Over Christmas: Lauren

Lauren talks about how she copes over the Christmas holidays and what she does to help her mental health.

- Lauren Brooks

Although Christmas time can be a lot of fun, it can also be an incredibly tough time of the year too. Therefore, we want to bring this to light and ensure nobody feels alone.

1. What do you enjoy most about the winter holiday period?


Personally, for me, I really enjoy Christmas as it�s the time of year when you can get time off from school, university or work and spend some quality time with your family, which is great, especially for someone who�s very family orientated like I am. Also, I enjoy being nice and snug inside, especially during occasions when it is snowing or icy outside, there�s no better feeling than having your heating on full blast during winter!

2. What do you find most difficult during the holidays?

I think one of the most difficult things about Christmas time is that when I got really ill with my OCD and Depression, it was during the Christmas period about two years ago, so it is always at the back of my mind, thinking that it could happen again, and that Christmas could prove to be a trigger for it all to come back again. Also, I think I struggle without routine, as if I don�t have some sort of structure in place, then I find my Depression creeping back on me, so holidays are difficult for me to try and stick to a routine.

3. What do you do to help your mental health during the holidays?

One of the most vital parts, I think can really help is basic self-care, especially for Depression sufferers, as I often find that a pyjama day may be harmless for others, for me it can seriously lower my mood and affect it for the rest of the day, so its really important that I get dressed so I set myself up for the prospect of doing something. Also, setting myself a routine can help immensely, as if I�m constantly doing things then I�m not giving my mood a chance to sink. Additionally, I think exercise is a great help, as I tend to feel better especially when I�m in a bad mood after a bit of moving around.

4. What present would you give yourself over the holidays?

I would give myself a nice holiday! Just over the Christmas holidays whilst I�m off university or during Easter, so I could give myself a chance to relax and refresh my mind, for me, holidays are especially important for my own mental well being as they give me a chance to just let go of any pressures or stress at home.


If you would like to get involved in our Christmas blogging series, you can find all of the details here.

"Hi, I'm Lauren, I am a first year student studying Social Work. I suffer from Depression, OCD and anxiety, I am writing for Student Minds to try and help others."