3 Ways To Reduce Stress This Holiday Season
Gratitude is the ultimate antidote to frustration, resentment, and anger.
Exercise
I love pie. I really love pie. And I often love pie so much, it ends up not loving me. While the holidays are a time centered around family and food, this year since family may be smaller than in previous years.
So it’s important we are balancing our focus on food this year, with a focus on wellness or at least balance. We often tell ourselves “I’ll get in shape come next year!” until next year comes and we feel the same. The truth is anything worth starting is worth starting today.
Do something good for your body today – go on a walk, a gentle jog, some nice yoga stretches, heck even push-ups and jumping jacks.
Exercise is a fantastic way to reduce anxiety, as it quickly moves your body from a state of tension to calm. It is important to ensure that we are getting in regular exercise to boost endorphins and keep our hormones balanced. So, enjoy your food this year and take a hike!
Connect
This year’s holiday season is weird (like last year’s) and chances are you might have an alternative to the regular large gatherings you might have had in years past.
However, it is wildly important to still connect with your loved ones. Setup a zoom time, create an email chain, or just give your folks a call!
If things are difficult with family or friends it is important you find some form of support through other loved ones, support groups, or professional therapist.
Try your best to make new connections and mend broken ones. If neither is possible, nurture your relationship with yourself. Journal, connect with interests, ensure self care. Nourishing our connection with others and with ourselves reduces stress and enhances wellbeing.
Gratitude
Gratitude is the ultimate antidote to frustration, resentment, and anger. There is so much to complain about this year and yet here we are. Despite everything this year has thrown at us, we are still moving forward.
That means some collection of material, social, emotional, spiritual, financial, and physical good fortune has guided us through this year.
It is worthwhile to reflect on all the things we still have, on all the blessings bestowed upon us, and on the people that helped us through this year. When we focus on the things that help us grow, we are more likely to encounter those things in the future.
If you would like to know more about how to live and work better, I would love to speak with you! Offering accessible and secure telehealth counseling in Georgia, White Pine Therapy specializes in depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, chronic illness, and life transitions. Call or email today to setup your free 30-minute consultation!
