Halloween is the time for all things spooky and scary. Where people dress up and have a good time. But for some people, mental health and Halloween don’t always go together. So what can you do to still enjoy this spooky time of year? Well, read this article and find out.
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Mental Health And Halloween: Anxiety
If you suffer from anxiety, there are a few things you could do to ease your anxious feelings. Plus, have a little Halloween related fun as well.
Answering the door
If answering the door to trick-or-treaters will increase your anxiety, then simply don’t do it. There’s no law saying you have to, so if you don’t feel up to it then don’t do it. Your mental wellbeing is by far the most important thing.
You’re not obligated to give out sweets or answer the door. But if you feel like you’d still like to give some sweets out without answering the door, then you could try putting a bowl out with some sweets instead.
Identifying triggers
If you want to try and push yourself a little this Halloween, then you could take some time to work out what your triggers are for this seasonal holiday. Once you’ve done that, you can then create a list of how you could manage these triggers. But remember, you’re in control, and only do what you’re comfortable doing.
Dinner party
Alternatively, if you want to celebrate Halloween but don’t want to go out, you could do a themed dinner party instead. Then invite a few friends and family over to enjoy it with you. It could be a lot of fun creating a Halloween themed food and drinks menu for the dinner party.
Movie night
If a dinner party is too much hassle, you could do a horror movie night and invite friends and family over. You could literally binge-watch the Halloween movie franchise on Halloween. You could even just enjoy this on your own. Nothing wrong with binge-watching some horror movies on your own, at least you get to eat all the sweets yourself.
Get creative
You could use Halloween as an excuse to get creative and make your own decorations to get into the spirit of the holiday.
Seek support from others
If you need some company to go out and enjoy Halloween, don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family. You could also try meeting up with like mind people to enjoy the seasonal holiday through Mental Health support groups run by your local mental health charity, or even from like-minded Facebook groups.
Seek therapy
Seek professional support to help work through your mental health problems. But if you’re finding it hard to get into therapy, you could also try some online courses or talk to someone at one of the various support services I’ve listed on my Global Crisis Lines And Support and UK Crisis Lines And Support pages.
Mental Health And Halloween: Trauma
Unfortunately, some people who have suffered trauma (PTSD) can also find Halloween difficult to enjoy. A lot of Halloween costumes involve fake scars, open wounds, stitches, weapons, and the like. For those among us who have lived through a war, have experienced violent crime, or abuse, Halloween can be a trigger to their traumas.
What might seem like good old harmless Halloween fun can, in fact, trigger some people’s trauma-induced fight-or-flight response.
Dress code Halloween party
You could arrange a Halloween party but put the triggering items on a no go dress code list. Not every awesome Halloween costume has to involve looking like the film Hostel.
Dress code dinner party
Much like the no go dress code for a Halloween party, you could do the same for a dinner party as well.
Film night
You could also arrange a movie night for Halloween, but instead of the normal scary and gory films, you could try watching ones that aren’t violent. This would still allow you to enjoy the Halloween seasonal spirit.
For example:
Mindfulness
Unfortunately, not all situations where there might be trauma-inducing triggers are going to be avoidable over the Halloween period. The streets and shops are going to have their Halloween displays up for at least a month.
What can you do to better manage this? Well, there are a couple of things you could do. Much like those suffering from anxiety, you could take time to identify your triggers and work out a way to better manage them. You could also look into using some mindfulness techniques, such as using breathing exercises or grounding.
An example of a grounding technique – Feel Your Feet
This is a pretty quick and easy technique that can be done anywhere at any time. Whether sitting or standing, all you need to do is to place all of your awareness on the bottom of your feet. Then Pay attention to any sensations. That’s it. Just do that for about 30-60 seconds, or however long you need to ground yourself in the present.
If this method doesn’t work for you, then there are plenty of others out there you could try. Check out my article on grounding techniques by clicking here.
Don’t self-medicate
It is tempting to use alcohol and drugs to get avoid dealing with your trauma during such seasonal holidays as Halloween. However, whatever fleeting, temporary relief you get from doing this will only make your mental health worth it in the long run.
I use to self-medicate to manage my anxiety disorders to stop myself from having constant psychotic episodes whenever I left the house. But for a decade my anxiety disorders didn’t improve, not until I decided to take a different approach. Changing my mindset to managing my anxiety disorders with long-term recovery being the aim, over short-term comfort.
I used a combination of graded exposure and metacognitive therapy to achieve this. Instead of challenging my intrusive thoughts that would trigger a psychotic episode, I would leave them unchallenged and let them run their course.
Whenever I challenged them before, it would just make my anxiety and psychotic episodes worse. So now I was leaving them be, and after a while, the thoughts become less and less powerful.
This, coupled with using graded exposure, whereby I’d go out to places with my partner, enabled me to go out without self-medicating. But most importantly, it drastically reduced the frequency of my psychotic episodes, which were almost 24/7 before.
It wasn’t pleasant to do at the start, let me tell you, but the difference in my quality of life, before and after doing this, is so massively different, it’s like comparing Usain Bolt with a snail, running 100 meters.
Seek therapy
Again, seek professional support to help work through your mental health problems. But if you’re finding it hard to get into therapy, you could also try some online courses or talk to someone at one of the various support services I’ve listed on my Global Crisis Lines And Support and UK Crisis Lines And Support pages.
Mental Health And Halloween: Depression
Depression can be the hardest to overcome due to the sheer lack of motivation to do even the simplest of tasks. However, if you can find a way to motivate yourself, then hopefully these suggestions might help you get into the spirit of Halloween.
Decorations
I don’t know about you, but I love shopping during the run-up to Halloween. I’ve bought 2 crockery sets that have skulls on them, which I’ll be using all year round, all thanks to Halloween. I’ve also bought a lot of tea towels, mugs, glasses, etc. I love home decor shopping at Halloween.
Why not try getting into the Halloween spirit the same way, and go check out the Halloween decorations, and maybe even pick up a few things? You could also get your craft game on and make some or all of your Halloween decorations.
Meeting up
If your friends aren’t free or you’re alone for whatever reason, then you could join a platform like Meetup and arrange to meet people through that to celebrate this spooky time of year.
I know how hard it is to put yourself out there, but the benefits of doing so can make a huge difference. You could also reach out to Facebook groups in your area.
Costumes
Don’t be afraid to get dressed up. I love the idea of dressing up, but I also have a lot of hesitation due to my own insecurities. Don’t be like me. Who cares if it might be embarrassing? That’s part of the fun of Halloween. Embrace the kid inside you.
Me And Halloween
I love Halloween, but my mental health tries to stop me from enjoying it. I love the idea of dressing up; I love the decorations. It’s my kind of holiday for my black and horror-loving heart.
However, when it comes to Halloween, my anxiety disorders, crippling self-doubt, low self-esteem, and borderline personality disorder all stop me from truly enjoying Halloween.
Dressing up for Halloween causes me several problems, especially if the Halloween celebration isn’t actually on Halloween itself. My anxiety disorders get triggered by people looking at me, so if I’m in an eye-catching costume then I’m going to potentially have a lot of people looking at me, which will then trigger a psychotic episode.
Then there’s the fear of being laughed at if I’m the only one in a costume on public transport, which, in my mind, will draw the attention of people who will then laugh at me.
Also, when it comes to costumes, then the outfit not being good enough can also be a problem for me. Again, because people might laugh at me for how pathetic it is, but also because it’ll grate at me for not putting in enough effort. There’s a part of me that wants stuff to be perfect and if it can’t be, then I shouldn’t try at all. An all-or-nothing approach that has been with me all my life. Although it’s not as strong as it was when I was a child.
I wish I could overcome that side of myself. It doesn’t just affect my ability to truly enjoy Halloween the way I’d like, it also affects me in my day-to-day life as well. I haven’t dressed the way I’d really like to, to express myself, due to the anxiety it’d cause. Even the smallest change to my usual look is really hard for me to do.
My partner, on the other hand, loves making an effort and dressing up for Halloween. The last time we celebrated Halloween, we both dressed up. It’s hard to say no to my partner when it comes to stuff like that, which is annoying at the time, but a good thing in the long run. If you’ve read some of my earlier blog work, you’d understand. I lack the drive and motivation to do anything, even meeting my partner (Date Night: The Difficulties Of Meeting My Partner and Unexpected Plans: Partner Wants To Meet A Week Early).
As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, feel free to share your experiences of how your mental health and Halloween work together in the comments section below as well. If you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, then sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, get push notifications for new articles by clicking the red bell icon in the bottom right corner.
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Very good points here. I hate answering the door, but dont mind as much once I’ve established that it’s the neighbour kids. It’s easier nowadays that we love in a good area, before it was awful. We lived in a bad area and you never knew who you were answering the door to.
I hadn’t even considered how living in a good area around this time of year would be a factor, but clearly it would be
I’ve never thoght about this before – thank you for raising my awareness about it!
I’ve never actually considered how Hallowe’en might be a trigger for anxiety before. Such an enlightening post with some really great suggestions.Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to read it
Such an insightful post, and I hadn’t considered a lot of these scenarios before. Halloween kind of goes by unnoticed where I live and there aren’t many kids in the area so we don’t get trick or treaters usually. Thanks for bringing this to my attention! x
Sophie
It’s been a long long time since I last saw a trick or treater, thinking about it
This is such an informative post. I never thought that Halloween could have a negative effect on someone and I never knew Halloween could trigger anxiety. Here, where I stay, people don’t really care about Halloween lol.
That’s a shame, a good Halloween party can be lots of fun. Who doesn’t like to play dress up
This was such a thoughtful post! I feel kind of silly for not connecting the gory Halloween costumes with PTSD, but that makes so much sense. I love the alternatives you provided for Halloween night. I personally love answering the door to trick or treaters, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more self-conscious (low self-esteem!) and I don’t think I can wear a costume. I’d be too awkward. But I think a nice, Halloween dinner party maybe with a fun Halloween movie at the end for people who don’t like scary (which I love, but I won’t force anyone else to watch them) sounds like a lovely, anxiety-free Halloween night to me! Thanks for providing so much info and some alternative methods for people who may be suffering with their mental health this time of year. Halloween should be fun, not stressful. You just have to find what works for you and your mental health. 🙂
Emily | https://www.thatweirdgirllife.com
Indeed, Halloween should be fun, and with a few small changes you can make sure everyone can join in
As someone who has mental health problems, especially with anxiety, depression and bpd, I can totally relate to how you feel. You also make some really good points that make me feel much more comfortable with Halloween coming up as it’s always an evening if I’ve been afraid of. Great post.
Something I remember when going trick-or-treating was seeing some houses with just a bowl of candy out rather than us having to ring the doorbell – I didn’t piece the two together that it may be due to anxiety that the person opted to leave the bowl of candy outside rather than having to open the door to distribute candy to trick-or-treaters. It’s really important to know that you’re in control and only do what you find comfortable doing.
I haven’t though of the trauma aspect of halloween with regards to fake scars, stitches and fake blood and could trigger someone’s with for flight response.
Dressing up is super fun and a great way to get creative with decorations, thank you very much for writing this post, definitely gave me a lot to think about as Halloween comes closer.
I hope you enjoy your Halloween and get to have fun dressing up and putting up decorations ?
This is a very thoughtful post. Each year I take the family trunk or treating at a local church. The gory costumes are few and far between, which helps me a lot. Before I had kids, I’d ignore the door and just watch a movie.
You’ve got to put your own wellbeing first. But I’m glad you’re enjoying it more now days
Thanks!
Great post, really useful tips, I recognise a lot of what you say.
I’m not a huge Halloween fan, usually take sweets around for the kids next door then ignore the door all night, though I do kinda like dressing up ??♀️?
I hate scary films, I hate feeling scared or on edge, always have done I absolutely avoid them with anxiety, hadn’t considered there are actually Halloweeny films that are fun – despite having seen them – so thank you for the reminder
I’ve never really thought of horror films as being scary, although gore has started to have an effect on me, which it never used to
Weird isn’t it how things start to affect us! I used to be fine with the horror films that could actually happen (slasher films) not so much anymore
As long as I don’t turn right wing as I continue to age, I’ll be alright
???? my greatest fear in a single sentence ????
?
This is a great post!
Thank you for sharing these amazing points.
Love Maria x
Mindfulness is my go to! I never thought about the impact of Halloween on mental health before.
Great post 🙂
-aimlief
This is a very good post because I have never ever thought that someone can have also a negative Halloween expierence! But you are saying true. Unfortunately I am not celebrating Halloween because in Berlin it’s not a BIG celebration like in other countries, but while reading, I understand one thing – as I am afraiding from spiders, every shopping time can really be not the nicest for me! Every time seeing ”spider” on sweets, hats, advertisments… I am freaking out. But thats I think, is the only thing!
My 6’4″ friend is massively scared of spiders too, he’ll run out of the room even over a picture of a spider
Such a great post about reminding us all to focus on our mental health & put that first even during spooky season. I liked how you mentioned you don’t have to answer the door. There are sometimes where answering for trick or treaters is a hassle. Last year bc of covid, we stayed in and watched movies and turned out the lights so people wouldn’t come to the door. More candy for us! LOL!
any excuse to keep the sweets all for yourself ?
Those are some great suggestions for alternative ways to celebrate Halloween if it causes anxiety.
I take care of some prisoners of war, so I can understand triggers for PTSD. Great post!
Thank you
This is a great insight into Halloween that I’ve not heard discussed before. I can see how Halloween might make you feel anxious or even scared, so these are some great tips for handling it x
Thank you
This is interesting and good solution to people who don’t go along with Halloween. They can still have party and everything without the triggering stuff.
Indeed. There are many different ways to celebrate Halloween
Such an informative post! I never realized how triggering Halloween can be for some.
Unless you’re triggered by it yourself, then you’re likely not to have made that connection
One option for those who have the resources and find Haloween triggering is to take a short vacation. My family always took a couple days around Haloween and went to the coast, away from the parties and costumed neighborhood roamers and chaos and decorations. it was peaceful, isolated, and refreshing to spend time walking on the beach and watching whales, or cozied up by a fireplace with hot chocolate and no fear of being disturbed.
That could also be an option
Great post. So I’m depth and it will be helpful to others.
I’ve never thought about Halloween as a triggering time for some, but it is and we should think about this more.
I used to love house parties & making Halloween themed treats. It’s a great way to control the event and adapt it however you want to celebrate.
I’ve not held a party in almost two decades, that’s the problem with living in tiny rented accommodation, you can’t do fun things like that
Really great article. I hadn’t considered many of these aspects. I really think this post will help a lot of people realize they’re not alone in their anxieties about Halloween and the importance of taking care of your mental health during Halloween. Great job!
Thank you
I learned a lot reading this post. I have to admit that I’m not a Halloween fan because I don’t like anything frightening. I don’t get any pleasure from it, it just stresses me out. I really like your suggestions of halloween themed movies which are not scary, this will work for me for sure. The worst scary movies for me are the ones with zombies. It gives me nightmares each time, and in my nightmare, I run for my life, trying to survive. The stress is very intense because it looks real to me. I enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad I was able to provide you with nice Halloween movie alternatives
I get anxious about answering the door when I am alone. I totally understand this.
I know how you feel, especially when it’s late and dark outside
Wow, I didn’t realize until now answering the door can trigger anxiety. Maybe it’s because we don’t celebrate it here but it’s definitely valid. You don’t know who’s behind the door, especially when they’re in freaky costumes. Now I remember Scream haha. It’s nice that you’re talking about this.
https://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com/
It’s a shame you don’t at least have Halloween parties, it’s a good way to tap into your inner child to put on a costume
This is such a great post. I love the idea of hosting a movie night or themed dinner party instead of going out. Especially when people are still worried about bigger crowds and getting used to life after Covid. I’m always shocked by some of the Halloween outfits I see and how graphic or triggering they can be.
Indeed, having a themed dinner date or film night is one way to enjoy Halloween willl keeping your covid19 risks low