How To Practice Self-Care During The Holidays
Thank Pastor Natalie from Examine This Moment for writing this fantastic blog post on practicing self-care during the holidays. Please make sure to give her blog a read and follow her on social media.
The holiday season can be hectic, but making time for self-care is important too. Pastor Natalie shares tips on prioritizing your well-being during this busy time of year.
Self-Care During The Holidays
During these times of grand celebration, we can become so overwhelmed. There are so many expectations during the holidays. Maybe it is a dinner or a party; any gathering you are now part of will bring anticipation. Although these may be some joyful moments, they can also get a lot of stress with it. So let’s meet to discuss “Self-care during the holidays.”
Remember To Take Time For Yourself
The holidays bring with them an increase of things you must get done. It can begin to feel like you have less time in the day to complete tasks. Along with limited time, you may overlook taking care of yourself. Perhaps you begin to dismiss the things you need, and this is what you must pay attention to.
It’s imperative to set priorities during the holidays. You can so efficiently run yourself ragged trying to do everything. Instead, remember to take a moment to consider – which things are the most important to you. When you do so, you recognize what is most meaningful and essential to you.
It’s essential to remain mindful of any negative emotions during the holidays. These stressful moments can be related to unrealistic expectations of yourself, overly high set goals, or you just may be feeling overwhelmed. Acknowledge these negative feelings and decide adjustments need to be made to suit the reality of the situation and choose to do a few fewer activities.
Reflecting on what you are grateful for amid your business will increase peace. Perhaps, first thing in the morning, you can write down at least three things you appreciate in your life and pray for a few moments. Gratefulness impacts our perspective genuinely.
Remember to enjoy these moments and laugh as much as possible during the holidays. If you can, play a funny movie, and do silly things like sing-a-longs and charades. Some other essential things that help during the stress of the holiday seasons are to play the music you enjoy and remember to include exercise, whether it’s a brisk walk, stretching, or running, some examples.
Remember That These Moments Of Stress Will Pass
Keep in mind this stressful time will pass. You have made it through previous holiday seasons before. So, instead, focus on appreciating and enjoying as many positive moments as possible during the holidays. Perhaps you can create a calendar that you mark off each day as a reminder that you’re getting closer to the end of the festivities.
Another essential thing to remember is if you are dealing with sadness, remind yourself that it’s natural and that you don’t have to pretend to be cheerful. Please allow yourself to express your feelings, and don’t feel obligated to participate in every activity if you’re overwhelmed by your emotions.
During any holiday gathering, it’s essential to remember this is not the time to resolve more significant issues or vent frustrations. These unpleasant and uncomfortable moments can bring an increase in stress and anger. Walking away or maintaining little cordial talk with any unwelcome company may be necessary to maintain a calm mindset and peace in your heart.
Remember That Stress Increases During The Holidays
Lastly and most importantly, please remember during any increase in stress, especially during the holidays, it can be beneficial to talk with someone in confidence– in person, via phone, or even by text. Allow your confidant to bring you support and encouragement. Maintain open and honest communication about your feelings during these stressful moments. Don’t go through these moments alone. This is such a vital moment in your self-care during the holidays.
Thank you, Riyah Speaks, for the opportunity to write about this important topic during the holidays. Self-care is always important. There is so much extra stress during the holidays, and we must remember to take care of ourselves to reduce stress, improve our well-being, and find joyful moments in these challenging situations.
Pastor Natalie
Blogger
Over time, I have realized that we must take pauses, or we are just experiencing life passing us by quickly! Every day, there are several moments we can perhaps all talk about and be an encouragement to someone else.
~ Blessings Pastor Natalie
Blog: letstakeamoment.com
Good post and tips. I will take note on this. Thank you for sharing.
Fadima, Thanks for reading.
Maybe it’s the fact I’m not a parent yet, but the holidays aren’t very stressful for me, because I don’t really care about them. I prefer to do the bare minimum for them, and would much rather sit in PJ’s all day
Hey, I’m not a parent either, but I find the holidays very stressful due to financial constraints. I wish I could sit in my pajamas the entire time. That sounds so nice.
These points are so helpful.
In our household we have a busy December each year and by the time we get to Christmas eve, we are tired and could sleep for days.
Getting everything organised then becomes hardwork and I usually end up unwell between Christmas & New Year.
This year I will be taking time for self-care, even if it means saying no.
Hey,
Thank you for sharing this with us. My parents always drive themselves crazy trying not to let the kids down, and it’s so sad to witness. Please make sure to take time off for yourself this year.
Love all the advice. Holidays can for sure be a lot, so I’m extremely grateful for the tips provided in this article. I think I might just use them to survive the holiday season. Thanks for sharing!
Gaukhar,
Thanks for reading. I hope you do use these tips this holiday season. Please let us know if it helps you in anyways.
Thank you for this post. The holiday’s season can be stressful indeed, I just always try to keep myself in calm and thankful of everything that I have achieved.
Kay,
The holiday season is the most stressful time of the year. Gratitude is one of my favorite ways to practice self-care, especially when it comes to panicking over gift shopping.
Nice and helpful tips. Generally, I usually anticipate the holiday season and hardly ever get stressed about them. I do know lots of people who get really nervous and stressed during this period though.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Eri,
WOW! I wish I could be like you. I’m always super stressed, anxious, and even depressed around the holiday season. This year, I hope to turn that around by practicing some self-care and better preparing for the season ahead of time. That way, I’m not panicking. Thanks for reading!
These are great suggestions. It’s so important to remember to take time for yourself – it can be hard to do that when there’s always something happening over the holidays, but it’s a great reminder.
Katie,
Thanks for reading. I feel like it’s harder to find time to practice self-care during the holidays, especially for people who participate in gift-giving or other traditional celebrations.
These are some really insightful and useful tips to manage stress. The Law of impermanence is something one needs to remember.
Hello,
Thanks for reading and commenting on this post. I agree that the law of impermanence is essential and one that everyone should remember as we become busier throughout the holiday season.
Nice & helpful, Self-Care blog post & tips. Thanks for sharing!
Monika,
You’re welcome!
Having self care during the holidays is so important. I know that sometimes I get stressed during the holidays and I have to always tell myself relax and take a moment for myself.
Hey,
I get really stressed too. Last year I completely lost my mind and was super depressed. This year, I plan on not making those same mistakes.
This is such a great post and one I really needed to read right now. Its so easy to get caught up in everything, I definitely need to take this advice and look after myself too.
Kelly,
Thank you for sharing that with me. I am always struggling with the holidays and plan to prioritize my health and myself better this holiday season.
holidays almost always come with a lot of obligations and obligations almost always mean stress. There is so much to do, it gets harder to find time for yourself and your sanity. I think during holidays we should remember first that ourselves are more important than stupid traditions and whatever somebody else says (even if this person is close family)
Lyosha,
I love the way you said this and I honestly could not have said this any better!
Holidays are always such a stressful time, and it is easy to forget to take care of ourselves. Or to simply ignore that need, citing we don’t have enough time because of everything else. I’ve done it many times myself. These tips are spot-on for practicing better self-care during the holidays.
Hi Erica,
I completely agree! The holidays can be highly stressful, and it’s so easy to lose track of self-care during this season. I have also stopped practicing self-care and ignored my health needs for the sake of the holiday season. But I definitely won’t be doing that this season.
This is so important, we all know the holidays can be a stressful time! Super important to take some time out for yourself and practice some self care.
Lauren,
Absolutely! The holidays are super stressful, and we should always take time off to care for ourselves.
This is such a lovely post. The holidays can be very stressful for a lot of us so it is even more important for us to prioritize self-care but still remember that the stress will pass.
Lisa,
I completely agree. The holidays tend to be really stressful for everyone, and prioritizing self-care can really ease those emotions.
It is so hard to concentrate on yourself durning the Holidays.