How Self-Care Will Make Your Holidays Feel Better

"According to the American Psychological Association, 38% of people surveyed said their stress increased during the holiday season, which can lead to physical illness, depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. The reasons given were lack of time, financial pressure, gift-giving, and family gatherings.

Self-care can help mitigate most of these problematic issues. Here are six effective techniques that you can implement to make this holiday season more enjoyable and satisfying.

1. Practice mindfulness. Whether it’s holiday music, decorations, or the fir trees, take time to stop and notice. Try to focus on those aspects mindfully. To make the season feel more special, think about what excites and makes you love the holidays.
2. Sleep. Our brains need sleep to function effectively, efficiently, and productively. Make sure you don’t forget the critical importance of sleep. If you make getting the right amount of sleep a priority, you'll feel surprised that you'll get the same amount done, but with less negative interpersonal, physical, and mood impact.
3. Set boundaries. When you set a holiday boundary, you’re doing it because of how you felt the prior year. The boundary is a way to rescue yourself from that same feeling.
4. Delegate. The highlight of the holiday season for most people is sharing time with their family and loved ones, which can even include enjoying all the preparation. If you set a precedent of including others, you create shared experiences. This will yield a greater sense of collective joy.
5. Take “you" time. Ask yourself if you wish someone would do something nice for you or wish you had time to do something nice for yourself. Realize that if you don’t value yourself as much as everyone else around you, resentment will build. When you take care of “you,” your mood and efficiency will noticeably improve.
6. Don’t overextend. It’s quite common for us we push ourselves to make the holiday season extremely nice for our families—while hoping they’ll notice the enormous efforts that we made to please them. Stay mindful of the efforts that you’re putting in, asking yourself if you’re comfortable overextending, with the awareness that you may not get the reactions you’re hoping for."

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

What is something nice you'd do for yourself these holidays?

#Holidays #Self-Care #Stress