Doctor’s Advice: Yuletide Greetings 2024

By James McGuinness, M.D.

The Holiday season is here! This time of year can be overwhelming. Here are some suggestions to help get through the holidays: find your comfortable place where you can reflect on what the holidays mean to you. Take care of yourself and do things that reduce stress, such as meditation or exercise. Be mindful about food and alcohol consumption. Take breaks when needed. It’s okay to feel your emotions. If you need emotional support, contact a friend or family member or call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. What makes you feel good? Spending time with friends and family, shopping, reading a book? Keep away from impractical goals and spread out your day in a sensible way. At the end of each day disengage from the rat race. Be kind to yourself. 

Christmas is an emotional season of kindness and giving back. Volunteering at Christmas can have a positive impact on many people’s lives. It can help you connect with others and improve your physical and mental health.

Having a warm place to shelter from the cold nights is not a given for everyone, especially the homeless. Every year at this time, we hear about the poor and homeless people receiving a Thanksgiving meal or a present at Christmas. Helping one or two days a year isn’t enough.

The meaning of peace and joy for them is not having to worry about food, shelter, and heat. By reaching out, we can make a big difference in their lives. The Hope and Comfort Warming Center for men and the Women’s Heartwarming Center, both in Red Bank, offer a place where the homeless can have access to laundry, showers, health screenings, clothing and meals along with a safe and warm place to spend the night when the temperatures drop. Your donations or volunteering there can go a long way in helping these people. I volunteer at both these places on a weekly basis.

Let us not forget to volunteer at local hospitals, nursing homes and animal shelters where your time and effort will also be greatly appreciated. These places need help during the holidays. Try to find a place near you where your compassion and good intentions will be put to good use all year long.

According to the CDC, as of November 22, 2024, the amount of acute respiratory illnesses is low nationally. COVID-19 activity is stable or declining in most areas. Seasonal influenza (Flu) activity remains low nationally. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) activity is elevated and continues to increase particularly in young children. Respiratory infections caused by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria also remain elevated among young children in the United States. Do not forget proper hand washing, social distancing and masks when appropriate.

During this Christmas, many of us participate in activities and songs to help us get into the Holiday spirit. We get together with friends and family and there is a festive feeling all around us that you can almost touch. As the famous cartoonist Charles Schultz (creator of the comic strip “Peanuts” which features Charlie Brown and Snoopy), once said: ”It's not what's under the Christmas tree that matters, it's who's around it”. Christmas isn't a season, it’s a feeling.

May this Christmas bring you good health, joy, happiness, and prosperity. Merry Christmas!

The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. -Hippocrates

James McGuinness, M.D., is a Family Physician in Middletown, and is the Medical Director Emeritus of the Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank