Holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes a myriad of intensified emotions. Whether you’re looking forward to this celebratory time with joy, dread, or a combination of both, navigating the heightened feelings of the season can be a challenge.
Expectations we hold—our own and those of others—for how the holiday time should look magnify our emotions, and stress is a common response. We tackle long to-do lists and packed schedules as we try to meet these expectations, but often find ourselves in a state of overwhelm, obscuring the joy we’d hoped to find in the results.
But if we look at the season from a different perspective, prioritizing our own self-care, we can better balance our emotions, reduce the stress response, and create a more enjoyable holiday time.
Take time for yourself. You can only give what you have, so making time for self-care during the holidays leads to a more positive outlook for you and those around you too. Do something each day that helps you relax, ground, and simply smile. Take a walk in nature, enjoy a tub soak, read a book, or do whatever lights you up to bring a more contented you to the season.
Set boundaries. It’s OK to say “no”—and it’s especially important this time of year. Maybe that means eliminating or re-framing a get-together, gift exchange, or meal prep. Perhaps some tasks could be simplified or skipped. Recognizing and releasing things that make you feel stressed leaves you better able to enjoy and be enjoyable during the holiday time. Set realistic expectations. Concentrating on the way things have always been done, or those pictures of holiday perfection we see can make us feel obligated to measure up to unreal expectations. Making a list of things that create meaningful holidays for ourselves is a good starting point for re-arranging our priorities and creating holiday celebrations that bring us joy. Seek Support. An energy balancing Reiki session, an empowering Tarot reading, or a harmonizing Flower Essence such as Plum can offer clarity and calm to support a more optimistic outlook for the season.
Holiday time is bound to hold extra tasks and highly charged emotions, but our stress response can be minimized or even eliminated by focusing on what really matters to ourselves and our loved ones. Step back, take a new view, keep what works and release what doesn’t to create healthy emotional balance—you may find a whole new appreciation of the season.
Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season.
Torie