Hello December!
It’s one of my favorite months of the year. The lead-up to Christmas and New Year can be exhausting due to endless events and end-of-year deadlines. It’s that time of the year where you get together with family members that you don’t speak at all throughout the year but you just have to see them at Christmas. And where you indulge large quantities of food without necessarily wanting to.
Here are some tips to stay mentally and physically healthy in a season of stress:
1. Practice mindful eating: When we are in an uncomfortable situation we tend to eat more to deal with our anxiety and therefore we can’t process the food properly so we might get stomach ache. Mindful eating is about bringing more awareness and enjoyment to the foods you eat and knowing when to stop eating because you are no longer hungry.
2. Anticipate family drama: be aware of the things that usually trigger you. Try to take breaks when you are with your family and go outside or to the bathroom to meditate and breathe for a few minutes.
3. Prioritize sleep: During the Christmas holidays you tend to drink more and this might disrupt your sleep. Sleeping is the most important thing we can do to help your mood.
4. Don’t be afraid to say no and stay home. It’s OK to only go to two of the 10 parties and family gatherings you’re invited to, especially if you’re seeing the same people at each event. There may be feelings of guilt initially but you don’t have to go to each event if you don’t want to.
5. Stay active: We might get lazier during the Christmas holidays because it might be cold and snowy outside. But even if it’s just a 45-minute workout that will help you a lot to deal with anxiety.
By Natalia Vidal – Pink But Not Weak