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Kitchen Table Kibitzing: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 [1]
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Date: 2025-01-02
During the past month of these holidays, I have found myself pausing time and again to ground myself in the moment. To search for a sense of appreciation and joy in the activities, decorations, mementos, memories associated with this time of year. I have felt such dread for 2025 it has been exceedingly difficult not to future trip.
I went to bed early on the 31st and spent January 1 buried in a legal thriller when I wasn’t walking the dog. Just couldn’t celebrate this new year. Received a good share of text messages from friends wishing me a “Happy New Year” but sent none myself.
This morning, I began the process of taking the decorations down and paused soon after I began, wanting to stretch out the time, plagued by a feeling that the next time I touch these objects life will be inexorably different. That the holiday season will never be the same again. Too much will have changed. I will have changed. Even my dog, Aggie, who turns 13 in February, might not be around next year. I want to treasure her, to celebrate her life, to keep her close.
More than anything else I want to figure out how to be resilient, how to keep moving through each day without a sense of impending doom. I want to learn some tools to help me navigate through this time of political anxiety.
The NYT posts an article with ten tips advising readers on how to keep your mind healthy this year. One of their first priorities addresses dealing with anxiety.
Survey after survey shows that many Americans are anxious. If you can relate, there are ways to manage your tendency to worry: Confront your fears. Research suggests that directly facing the things that make us anxious can help break a pattern of fear and avoidance. You can do this with a therapist — a process clinicians call exposure therapy — or you can do it on your own. Focus on your values (instead of your anxiety). Think about the personal traits that you admire, then do something meaningful to embody them. For example, if being generous is important to you, consider volunteering in your community. Try not to catastrophize. Ask yourself: Was the amount of worry I devoted to a particular problem worth it? How did I navigate my worries and what was the most important thing I learned? Write down your observations so that you can refer back to them if excessive worry or dread resurface.
Other tips include making a new friend, getting enough sleep, making sure you are physically healthy, forgiving someone, and engaging in physical activities.
Last year, the NYT published an article on how to make better New Year’s resolutions:
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