Christmas can be fun and magical, but unfortunately, it can also be a very stressful time of year for many people, bringing mixed emotions and challenges.
If you’re one of those struggling right now, here are some tips we’ve put together that may help to ease anxiety and stress, and look after your body and mind…
Find your breath
Pay attention to your breathing. Slow, deep, long breaths can help you maintain a sense of calm or help you return to a calmer state.
Listen to your body
You know your body better than anyone so be mindful of what it’s saying to you. Don’t overindulge when your body is saying no more. If you feel tired, take a nap.
Take notice of your body’s signals for needing more or less of something. Be kind and gentle to your body and treat it with respect and love.
Hold Something and Really Focus On It
Hold an object in your hand and really bring your full focus to it. Look at where shadows may fall on parts of it or maybe there are shapes that form within the object. Feel how heavy or light it is in your hand and what the surface texture feels like under your fingers.
Let Your Thoughts Come and Go
When we are anxious our thoughts about our worries go around and around in our mind, building on each other until we feel drained by them. Allow those thoughts to come and go, you don’t need to respond to them.
Distract Yourself
There are several ways to distract your mind so it stops thinking about whatever it is that is worrying you and focuses on something that isn’t emotionally driven.
Pick a colour. How many things in different shades of that colour can you see around the room or out of the window? Still feeling stressed? Pick another colour.
Create a calm space
Can you create a calm place where you could have time and space for yourself? It may be a room, or just your favourite chair in the living room. Have the things you need around you to help you feel calm and relaxed.
Work off your Adrenaline-Fueled Energy
Sometimes the body and mind can become so stressed that it’s impossible to concentrate enough to do any of these grounding exercises.
If this is happening to you, kick-start the calming down process by doing something physical to release the pent-up energy before using your favourite grounding techniques. Try singing loudly to your favourite songs, dancing around the kitchen with your music on or take a quick walk outside.
Prioritise self-care
Practice regular self-care and find time for yourself each day. It doesn’t need to take a long time or be expensive. Create some habits around consistent and practical self-care that you can start now and keep up through the holidays and beyond.
Self-care is essential for a healthy, balanced body and mind and will benefit you and also those around you.
And finally…
Forget perfection
Lots of stress around Christmas Time comes from trying to create the ‘perfect’ Christmas. Forget the ‘perfect’ Christmas.
Focus on a few, simple traditions to build those special memories and give yourself the gift of less stress to have more ease, joy, calm, magic and meaning.
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