Smile tis the season! As important as the coming holidays are, so also is our mental clarity and emotional state of well-being. The season of gifting, partying and rapid fire multi-tasking! A lot of people have different plans and different views regarding the coming holidays and never for once give a minute to plan for their well-being.
As the holiday season falls upon us, I am bestowed with humility by the many who may feel the silent night of the holidays and even slighlty depressed by the recent loss of a loved one or difficult health situation. Our moods are likely to be malnourished after too much celebratory eating, and of course the excessive amount of holiday cocktails. Yes, the Egg Nog Martini's can lead to excessive amounts of alcohol and as well high sugar consumption. Movement and exercise tends to also take the back seat during this time of year in further sabotaging our physical and emotional well-being.
Ok, health and wellness practitioners have been talking about holiday stress since it has become admired as a super power to be stressed-out and exhausted the majority of the time.
So why does stress and emotional well-being continue to be such a hot topic on most media outlets? Well let's connect the dots for a moment, holiday is a day of:
exemption from work
a time or period of exemption from any requirement
a duty
assignment
a feast day
a period of cessation from work
a day of recreation
All I can think about when I read this definition of "holiday" is fun, enjoyment, even a break from the normal work grind, and celebrating life! Where is stress found in any of these definitions?
Stay with me, so let's consider the nature and effects of stress.
Stress in it's most simplistic form is the body's reaction to change that demands that we make physical, mental, or emotional adjustments. In awakening the inner nature of Rocky IV fight or flight response, stress can cause tension throughout the entire body. Producing more excess for the holidays in now awakening inflammation, leading to headaches, digestive problems, ulcers, insomnia, fatigue, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and all sorts of issues resulting from the intensity of stress in your life. The most common emotional response to stress is anxiety, anger and depression.
So what's really going on during the holidays?
I could write about a host of things that add to stress and difficult emotional well-being during the holidays and here are just a few in mentioning.
Over spending: Fears of not being able to follow through with "YOU GET A CAR, YOU GET A CAR, AND YOU GET A CAR for your loved one's"! The stress of meeting these sort of expectations can be quite overwhelming and often compounded by self shaming.
Anxiety: The anxiety of shopping, hosting and entertaining family when you are already overworked and exhausted.
Loneliness: It's estimated that 43 percent of Americans are single, and nearly 30 percent of Americans live alone. When others are with their families, it can be very painful for those who are alone.
Grief: Missing a deceased loved one who won't be joining you. For this reason seniors have more to grieve.
Estrangement: When you're not on speaking terms with a relative, family get-togethers can usher in unwelcomed feelings of sadness, guilt, resentment or inner conflict about whether or not to communicate.
Ok, let's discuss a few tips to physical and emotional well-being this holiday season.
1. GPS and plan ahead: Rather than doing things on the "fly stand by route at LAX", make sure you set aside specific days for shopping, decorating, entertaining and holiday activities.
2. Keep it real: Many that struggle with anxiety and depression do their best to hide their feelings during the holidays. They often think that because everyone else is showing off thier smile, they should too. But the truth is that you can't force yourself to be cheerful and carefree if that's not what you are connecting to. It's ok to take a moment to cry just as it is to smile once in a while.
3. Get Outside: Studies have shown that the average American puts on a pound or two during the holiday season. Weight gain, especially when it is the result of overindulgence, often adds to more stress and guilt, which in many circumstances exacerbates the symptoms of depression. Nothing like the great outdoors and fresh cold air to nourish you physically, mentally and soulfully!
4. Keep with the script: Even if you have additional responsibilities, it is not necessary to alter your daily routine all that much as long as you can plan ahead. In fact, altering your schedule too much could cause additional stress in adversely affecting your sleep pattern and in being the best version of yourself!
5. Get still and meditate: Yes, I've been meditating long before it became mainstream. And I can still recall the looks I would get if I dared mentioned the practice of meditation in achieving mental clarity and optimal well-being. If you have never tried it, it really works to help you de-stress and reboot. Meditation clears the mind, renews and relaxes tension in calming.
6. Put a hold on taking care of everyone else but yourself: Take some me time! Restoring your inner calm doesn't always have to mean meditation, yoga and hiking. Explore alternatives that work for you and only you, something you might not know about. Some of which might even let you tap into your more creative side and especially for the holidays!
7. Nourish in supplementing while on the go: Good nourishment feeds and optimizes the brain. When we are deficient in any of these key areas for optimal cell efficiency we can be put at a pre-dispostion of putting further stress and imbalance on the body. With time usually being an issue and eating on the go during the holidays, we don't often have too many options of eating clean based foods. So, make sure to implement a form of supplement in nourishing some key areas of the body that may be lacking some of the essential vital nutrients.
Most importantly take notice to what's good and new this holiday season?
You then might be able to find the beauty of the holidays and let go of all the extra pressure on social expectations to have the Hallmark Holiday's episode for ourselves. Don't put so much focus on the disappointments but rather embrace the blessings of what matter most in finding harmony in health, love and happiness.
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