Merry Christmas, Felix Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, and the list goes on. Such a happy time of year, the old Folgers commercial gets me every time they play it over the Holiday Season. Laughter, and buying presents, Holiday parties, and Family get-togethers. Ah, such bliss, right?
But what if it isn’t. Perhaps you don’t have money to buy gifts, perhaps you are sick and can’t be around loved ones, maybe there is a falling out with loved ones and you refuse to be around each other, or one of your family members struggles with addiction and you just can’t help them. None of these things are happy. One study found that 88% of Americans feel stressed over the Holiday Season. What does that tell us? That we are doing it wrong. So what can we do? I have some tips to help alleviate some of the pain.
1.) Take time for yourself, relax, meditate, do some exercise, slow your mind
2.) Write down what your ideal Holiday would be. Where you are, what you are doing, who you are with. What does that look like? Imagine that is what you are experiencing.
3.) Breathing exercises see; https://www.healthline.com/health/breathing-exercise
4.) Set boundaries for yourself- you don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable
5.) Practice Gratitude- you have yourself, the body that carries you around every day, the mind that has infinite potential. Gratitude for being perfectly imperfect.
You got this! The holidays are what YOU make of it, not anyone else!!
