Why this Schizoaffective Is Looking Forward to the Holidays

I used to dread the holidays because of my schizoaffective anxiety. This year, however, I’m looking forward to them. Here’s why.

This Schizoaffective Loves Seeing Her Family at the Holidays

I’m looking forward to seeing people, which is almost unheard of for me. But after last year, when my brothers, sister, and their families couldn’t come in for the holidays because of the coronavirus, I realized how much I missed them. So, I am really looking forward to seeing my family this year. In fact, what happened last year made me realize that my family is the most important thing in my life. Family is precious.

The breakdown for this year is that my sister and her family and one of my brothers are coming in for Thanksgiving, and then both of my brothers and my one brother’s family, including my new baby niece, are coming in for Christmas. I’m especially excited to see the baby. She’s so cute. I got to know her when most of the family went up to Door County in Wisconsin last summer. My sister and her family never go to that, and my husband, Tom, couldn’t join us because he had just gotten a new job. But it was still wonderful. I bonded with the baby on that trip, and her parents say she is just like me, which kind of scares me, for her sake. (That was a joke, sort of.)

Being Proactive About Managing Schizoaffective Disorder and the Holidays

I’m sure my schizoaffective anxiety will act up a little during this holiday season. But I’m being proactive. I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done--I start it in August. And the key thing is that, as of the beginning of October, I promised myself no more medication changes until after the holidays, except for increasing my vitamin D dosage once it starts getting dark super early.

Another reason I’m looking forward to the holidays, despite my schizoaffective disorder, is that I’ve had a bit of a rough October, except for the trip to Iowa Tom and I took earlier in the month. The main thing that’s been going on is that my left knee is inflamed. Not only does it hurt, but it makes it impossible for me to exercise and take walks in the beautiful fall weather. I’ve seen two doctors about my knee, and now I’m following their instructions and trying to be proactive about getting my knee healthy again. If it’s better by the holidays, that will be the best Christmas present ever.

So, a lot of self-care is involved in making sure the holidays go well for me. But that's true of everything, especially when you have a chronic illness like schizoaffective disorder. I think the main thing at play here, though, is COVID teaching me how precious family is.