Holiday Self-Care Tupelo Event

An upcoming event will provide the community with resources to cope during a stressful holiday season.

"Self-Care During the Holidays: A Mental Health Conversation" will take place Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m. at Right Track Medical Group-Tupelo, located at 4428 S. Eason Blvd., across from Specialty Orthopedic Group.

The event will discuss the reasons for experiencing increased stress during the holidays and steps that can be taken to combat stress and incorporate self-care. 

Right Track Medical Group's licensed mental health professionals Clark Hunt, LPC, treatment coordinator, and Emily Grace Ames, LPC, therapist, will speak and answer questions.

"While the holidays are joyous times, they can also be a time when heightened stress sets in," Hunt said. "The expectations and obligations that come along with the holiday season can build to create a real impact on our mental health."

Hunt said a key to managing stress during the holiday season is to recognize the difference between realistic and unrealistic expectations. 

"It is truly impossible to meet all the expectations during the holiday season, but we can lose sight of that,” he said. “When we try to meet too many unrealistic expectations and find ourselves unable to, we mistakenly feel like we have failed."

The event will focus on how to distinguish between realistic and unrealistic expectations, and how to put one's mental well-being first during the holidays.

Practicing self-care is especially important during the holiday season, said Emily Grace Ames, LPC, therapist at Right Track Medical Group. 

"Self-care is one of the important pieces that will be covered at the event," Ames said. "When you are stressed, it is easy to neglect caring for yourself. We want people to understand how stress may be impacting them during the holidays and that it is okay to reach out for help.”

There is no charge to attend the event. To register in advance, visit righttrackmedical.com/news/stressduringholidays or call Right Track Medical Group- Tupelo at (662) 260-4533.