'Tis the Season for Self-Care
Managing Holiday Stress
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. These are holidays we all look forward to coming. Right? Many people love the high energy of the holiday season. Singing carols, drinking hot chocolate, and visiting family and friends can be wonderful activities. Then there is financial strain, gifting expectations, and an overbooked calendar. For these reasons, many people want to hide during the holiday season.
The holidays can bring on a lot of stress
When the holidays become stressful, there are many things people can do to minimize the effects and take care of themselves. One common approach to combating holiday stress is practicing inactivity. Doing nothing planned, like listening to music, can counteract internal pressure. Studies show listening to music promotes positive emotions, stabilizing the mind-body connection. Specifically, listening to music allows the release of certain biochemical messengers, including neurotransmitters and hormones, which alleviate stress and improve immune function. In addition, prayer, reading, and walking in nature can have similar effects.
Self-care is vital to mental wellness and doesn’t have to be difficult. Practicing boundaries by saying ‘no’, stimulating the senses (with candles or essential oils), visiting friends/other safe people, and laughing are some strategies. Also, be sure your basic needs are being met too! Make sure you’re eating regular, well-balanced meals, staying hydrated, and keeping up with physical activity, and staying in the moment (when possible). This is not the time to be hard on yourself. So be sure to enjoy some treats too! Check out our blog, “6 Self-Care Rituals Anyone Has Time For.”
Holiday stress affects everyone. Adults and children feel the difference in energy. One way to achieve balance is to keep your daily life simple and stick to what the heart of the holiday celebrates. People who have learned to focus on the holiday's deeper meaning and limit their social demands are ahead of the game. By practicing gratitude, they are giving a gift to themselves.
Women seem to be more affected by holiday stress more than men. They carry the brunt of the responsibility for cooking, gift shopping, childcare, and decorating as well as, possibly, the regular work at a job. For this reason, women can benefit from stress-reducing downtime activities such as a massage, warm bath, and a peaceful night's sleep. Limiting alcohol and turning off devices also helps during hectic and demanding times. Mainly, it's essential to know the limits of your boundaries and avoid stressors.
As a predominantly Christian country, the Christmas holiday has become a significant contributor to depression issues during and after the holiday season. Noticing how others are feeling is important. Unusual reclusive, irritable, or erratic behavior can be a sign the holiday is affecting someone adversely. Letting a loved one with these tendencies talk and express gratitude for them can prevent self-harm (or worse) from happening. It can be normal to feel a little sad or reflective during the holiday, and it's time to seek counseling if holiday sadness persists.
It’s not unusual for people to feel sad during the holidays
At The Blissful Heart Wellness Center, we offer a variety of events and classes aimed to help improve your overall well-being, such as as YoMassage, meditation classes for all levels, energy healing sessions and counseling from licensed therapists.
Stress can be positive or negative. Expected or unexpected circumstances can cause it. It affects everyone differently. Although the holidays can be fun, they also demand a lot and diverge from everyday routines. This difference alone can cause stress. However, when we expect stress, we can prepare for it and hopefully, once a year, have a truly happy holiday. Live well!