Even in the darkest times, rituals can help ground us, distract us from negative thinking cycles, and give us the chance to emerge stronger.
Thanksgiving has been a quintessential American holiday for hundreds of years. Dating back to 1621, this time-honored tradition has brought families and communities together to celebrate resilience, gratitude, and our shared humanity.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected our ability to come together during cherished moments. There’s no denying the pandemic—filled with physical, logistical, and financial challenges, among other concerns—was draining for many of us.
This holiday season, it may be more important than ever that we take time to return to our traditions, spend quality time with loved ones, and remember that we are social creatures.
How COVID Changed Our Holidays
Looking back at November 2020, after the onset of the coronavirus, 60 percent of Americans had canceled or modified their Thanksgiving plans, according to Axios polling. Since that time, we’ve experienced sweeping changes in our society. Though many of us have returned—in part or in full—to work or school, few would say things have returned to “normal.”
A recent Gallup poll revealed that socializing was back up to 68 percent, but mental health has been conspicuously slower to rebound. Only 40 percent of Americans said they felt their mental health has regained balance since the start of all this.
If you think back to the pandemic onset for a moment, you may recall some of the mixed feelings contributing to overall mental health. For many of us, it was a time of dread, as fears over how to pay the bills loomed. Yet, for some, it was initially appealing to get to stay home, even during the holidays. Let’s be honest, who among us hasn’t felt a certain sense of relief at the occasional snow day or sick day?
Yet, while it may be convenient to enjoy your life, free from some of the social responsibilities that life in the physical—or, one might say the “real” world—brings, the novelty of individual downtime can wear thin.
By Robert Backer
