Have you realized when you watch Christmas movies you don’t feel as stressed? It’s because Christmas movies remind us of times in our lives that were simple, hopeful, happy, and fun. They can help lower stress and reduce anxiety levels. Christmas movies can also encourage emotional release. Christmas movies are good for mental health because they highlight the things we are grateful for, and this gratitude can also increase our well-being.

Comfort in Difficult Times 

Hallmark movies can help with mental health during the holiday season. According to Hallmark,  “Over the past year, they have become more than just entertainment. They’ve also offered comfort during difficult and often frustrating times.” This tells us that Hallmark movies have become comfort for people when maybe they were going through dark times. Hallmark movies were something they could rely on when they were struggling and needed comfort. 

Christmas movies teaching how to love ourselves 

  Christmas movies can teach us how to be grateful and how to love. Example being the movie Elf, Elf is one of my favorite movies and a lot of other people’s favorites! Will Ferrel, who plays Buddy, grew up in the North Pole, thinking he’s an elf. But that’s not the case when he turns into a full grown. Then he gets out of the North Pole to find his biological dad. Buddy is a little unique, but he teaches us how to be positive and do what you love. He loves doing things that aren’t “normal” that most adult men would not do, on the other hand Buddy does not care. Natalie Copes, a senior at SPASH shared “He’s silly and he makes me laugh.” This shows it teaches us how to love and be grateful. 

The Grinch gives us a understanding of mental illness 

In Christmas movies someone in the movie can have a mental illness and we can relate to the character. The Grinch is a prime example of a mental illness; the Grinch has an angry soul which would point to a major depressive disorder. So the movie the Grinch helps us understand when someone is unkind or hurtful in their actions, it does not mean they are truly that way in their heart. According to Natalie Copes, “I just love the thought of him not liking Christmas to liking Christmas and him being accepted.” There is always something deeper causing them to react in certain ways. We need to learn to understand others’ mental illness. 

Christmas movies can help with your mental health, and lower stress levels. They teach us about mental health, they teach us friendship, and how to love.