Tis the season for celebrations, family, and fun! Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, or the change in season, this time of year is full of a mixture of varying emotions and responsibilities. Stress exists in a positive and negative form. Even activities we enjoy and look forward to require a certain amount of exertion on our part. Managing that stress during the holidays can be even more challenging due to busy schedules, deadlines, potential relationship conflict and more.
Stress management and self-care are meant to be daily, integrated interventions to help us maintain positive mental health. Unfortunately, as our lives become busier during the holidays with extra activities and expectations, we tend to borrow that extra needed time and energy from taking care of ourselves. This often feels like our only options; however, it is during these highly demanding times that we need those daily self-care moments the most. So, the question becomes, “How can I manage all of this?” Great question!
To help you and your family navigate this holiday season without losing a sense of your self and your sanity, we’ve put together a few ideas for managing stress during this time to keep the celebrations on a happy note!
- Plan Ahead:
Whether it’s your daily routine, holiday budget, or party plans, be sure to make time for planning. This helps us feel less out of control, enables us to anticipate potential concerns, and saves us time in the long run not trying to figure out things on the go!
- Maintain Healthy Habits:
You may not be able to fit in time for yoga, cooking, a full night’s rest, and all of your holiday fun, but that doesn’t mean we have to forego it all either. Finding time for at least one form of self-care each day will keep you feeling much better and less run down throughout the season.
- Set Proper Expectations:
You are one person and there are only so many hours in the day. We are not the super humans we so often expect ourselves to be. Be open to celebrating the holiday season and not trying to fit everything in to just one day or one weekend. Be realistic about your time, budget, and available energy. All of those factors are available to us in limited quantities no matter who we are.
- Get Support:
The holidays can be difficult for many people. It’s a time the grief we experience through the loss of loved ones often reappears. Sometimes we’re not in a space we’d like to be and able to have the type of holiday we’d hoped for. Utilizing your support network of friends, family, counselors, etc. can be especially important during this time.
- Set and Keep Healthy Boundaries:
We all have relationships that require healthy boundaries. Maintaining those during the holidays can help us manage those relationships more comfortably for everyone. Communicating our needs compassionately without judgement is a skill we all must learn and practice!
- Intentionally experience the joy:
How often do we complete an experience and it seems like it flew by without us really feeling like we got to enjoy it? Being present in our time allows us to engage with ourselves and our environment to fully experience joy. Take the time to really gaze at the holiday lights, savor the delicious food, embrace our loved ones with 100% of our attention. Happiness is not achieved, it is experienced. Soak up the experience of the joy of the season.
We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a New Year full of hope, joy, and love!