The holiday season is a wonderful, fun, magical, exciting time for many. However, for others, it is stressful, depressing, and lacks excitement for many reasons. If you know, you know. Let’s talk about ways to manage expectations, self-care, and meet yourself where you are at during the holidays.
Let’s talk self-care
Let’s remember that self-care is essential year-round. However, holidays are extremely stressful for many. Let’s take some additional time for ourselves and practice some self-care and self-love
Go for a walk
Take your dog out for an extra outing
Make a cup of tea or hot cocoa
Step into another room momentarily, even if you have company (it’s okay to give yourself a breather and take a deep breath)
Watch a movie, show, or podcast you enjoy
Deep breathing (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 5-6 seconds, exhale for 5-7 seconds) and repeat 5 reps
Let’s talk about meeting yourself where you are at
Check in with yourself
Ask yourself, what do I need in this moment?
What do i need?
What would benefit me?
What am I needing that I am not getting?
How can I provide what I need?
What do I have access to that can support me?
How can I support myself?
Those are a few questions I encourage my clients to ask themselves
Let’s talk expectations
You might be with loved ones who seem to always be able to go, go, go. Great, love that for them. But that might not be you, and that’s okay!
Meet yourself where you are at
Do what you need to do
Take breaks
Set healthy boundaries with yourself and stick with them.
Set boundaries with others as needed and give yourself the gentle reminder that it is okay to stick to them and not break them to please others.
General reminder that it is okay to meet yourself where you are at at any time, but especially the holidays. It’s okay to briefly excuse yourself and step into another room to take a deep breath. Step outside for fresh air (even if its freezing, sometimes the temperature difference can help to provide a momentary distraction). Meet yourself where you are at. Set healthy boundaries and give yourself the reminder that the holidays, while they come around yearly, are temporary – meaning they don’t last forever.
This link below takes you to a self-care assessment where you can see areas you maybe want to improve on or even give you ideas on what you want to try for self-care.
https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/self-care-assessment
All the best!
Alexandria Henson, MA, LCPC, NCC