Three Session Workshop- Navigating the Holidays in the Age of Covid
The holidays are upon us faster than we can believe. It seems like just a few days ago that our country went into total lockdown as the COVID-19 pandemic descended onto our nation. And yet last March when all of this began was 8 months ago. As individuals and collective members of society, we have all had to make major changes and adapt to a new way of being. Our daily activities changed as we had to learn to stand 6 feet or more apart from our friends and neighbors, wear masks, and carry hand sanitizer in our pockets. We had to adapt our behaviors to places that we frequented, to the way we conducted business and to the way schools educated. The familiar became very unfamiliar. Additionally, holidays and celebrations took on a new facade through the internet as “zooming” was how we made plans to see everyone. This past year has been so challenging and we have all felt like we have wanted to wake up from this crazy nightmare. The reality that we are living through a pandemic is surreal at best.
And now as the seasons change and we have been living our lives, the pages on the calendars turn ever so quickly and again we have to find ways to handle this “new normal” as we approach the holiday season.
Ellen, a wonderful friend and clinical psychologist who has a private practice in Manhattan, and I have teamed up to create a three session workshop that will provide both practical and emotional strategies to help you approach the holidays. We will give you solid strategies and tools to help you navigate this holiday season, and provide you with a space to explore and discuss your feelings. Together, through a zoom format, we will be talking about food, family, exercise, with the goal of helping you find ways to manage stress so that the stress doesn’t manage you.
Some of the key topics we will address during these sessions will be:
· Negotiating the holidays in the context of relationships with family and friends
· Integrating health and wellness into our daily routines
· Identifying stressful triggers that contribute to emotional eating
· Mobilizing your inner resources to maintain your emotional and physical well being
Each of the three sessions (NOVEMBER 5,12, 19 AT 11AM)will be 50 minutes, with a structured format and plenty of room for open discussion. There will be a cost of $75.00 for the three session workshop. Additionally, we will be donating a portion of the fees to Friday’s Soup Kitchen in NYC.
If you are interested in joining this group, or learning more about it, please contact Dr. Ellen Westrich at ekwestrichphd@gmail.com, or Rachel Graham at Rachel@livehealthynyc.com.