5 Self-Care Tips for the Holidays
Reduce the Stress! 5 Self-Care Tips for the Holidays
The holiday season is fast approaching and, as usual, there’s lots to do! Tidying the home, family photos for the holiday cards, preparing the meals, and don’t forget that holiday shopping list. The holidays are meant to be a time for connecting with loved ones and building traditions. Too often, our own desire to make things just right backfires as stress and fatigue lead to holiday burnout. Overall, there is a good chance that we will be eating more, sleeping less and too busy for the gym over the holidays – unless, of course, we plan ahead to set some personal boundaries.
Before launching into some helpful tips to beat the holiday madness, let’s take a short detour to review some important reminders about the people most vulnerable to emotional struggles during the holidays.
Those who are grieving loved ones may find the holidays to be full of emotional triggers as reminders of times past appear all around us.
Individuals struggling with or recovering from issues with substance abuse may feel pulled between the desire to connect with family and friends and the fear of exposing themselves to environments where alcohol and other substances may be more available.
Individuals and families with tight financial limits can find the pressure of holiday gift-giving particularly stressful.
Perfectionists may struggle to keep personal expectations under control when trying to throw the perfect holiday event or give the perfect gift.
What should we be on alert for when monitoring our own mental health over the holidays?
The season often brings with it reduced structure in our regular routine and pressure to give up personal time in favour of attending social events. While this can be an exciting time, we’ll want to be on alert for worsening fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating or remembering things, excessive use of substances like alcohol, and physical symptoms including headaches, muscle aches, shortness of breath, reduced appetite and disturbed sleep. Any combination of these symptoms are red flags for a build-up of stress and sure signs that we need to prioritize self-care. We suggest the following strategies:
1. Prioritize Sleep!
Sleep is the backbone of good distress tolerance. When our brain starts to exhaust itself from planning, socializing, and all of the other holiday to-dos, we become less efficient and more prone to emotional distress. Sleep should stay a priority as much as possible to allow our body to recoup the mental and physical energy that we have burned during the day.
2. Easy on the alcohol
Many of us enjoy celebrating with our favourite holiday drinks. Just remember that alcohol is a depressant, meaning that it reduces arousal/activity in our central nervous system. This process is what can provide the relaxed and less inhibit sensations we associated with alcohol. Too much alcohol, however, can negatively impact our brain chemistry in a manner that can affect our short- and long-term mental health.
3. Don’t forget to exercise
Exercise is a wonderfully effective method to reduce stress and tension, improve concentration, and combat depression and anxiety. During holiday season, it’s easy to replace our exercise routines with socializing, too much food and alcohol. Look for places in your busy schedule to inject some exercise to bridge the time before returning to your regular routine. For example, sticking to taking stairs over elevators, tobogganing or skiing with the family, hitting the ice for some skating or squeezing in a quick 30-minute gym session can give our body the extra boost it needs to stay energized and on task.
4. Focus on gratitude and meaningful connections
With holiday party season in full effect, it can be easy to focus on the quantity of family and friends we see over the quality of the time spent with them. This year, consider limiting your guest list to those you most want to connect with and find time to set the dishes and clean up aside in favour of guilt-free conversation and laughter. It is far too easy to get distracted by our to-do list and forget to appreciate the time we have with the people around us.
5. You need a present, too!
Don’t forget to reward yourself for another year of hard work. A Netflix movie binge, quiet walk on a snow-covered trail, or indulging in a favourite holiday treat can provide a simple reward while also releasing some of the pent-up tension that the season brings.
Regardless of the methods you decide to try, we at Waterloo Psychology Group hope that your holidays will be filled with joy, laughter, and fun. If you, like many others this time of year, are struggling with your mood during the holidays, please reach out for help. We have a number of therapists available for counselling and assessments.
If you are experiencing a crisis and need immediate assistance, you can contact HERE 24/7 for immediate access to crisis counsellors. Just call 1-877-688-5501.
From all of us at Waterloo Psychology Group, have a happy holiday season and don’t forget to take some time for yourself!