KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Many across East Tennessee and the nation will spend the holidays alone or with smaller groups of family.
Ben Harrington of the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee offered three tips to enjoy this special time we love and how not feel lonely.
- Find a way to connect, whether it's by telephone, FaceTime or Zoom, somehow, keep your holiday routine, as normal as possible.
- Find a way to make extra time to communicate so are you going to go walk down the street to walk your dog, take your telephone, catch up with someone you feel like you need to catch up with.
- If you know someone is living alone or isolated already, try to find a way to be inclusive and get them involved.
If you know a family member or friend that will be alone, reach out make sure they know you’re thinking of them.
Bonus tip: Harrington said to binge-watch something whether its Christmas movies or shows you’ve been needing to get to.
He said it's important in these times to laugh and keep a smile on our faces.