The Fall season is officially upon most of us. While it’s fun and festive, it can lead to longer to-do lists, jam-packed schedules, and a whole lot of STRESS.
There’s even a clinical term for the temporary experience of anxiety or depression that bubbles up during the holiday season, it’s known as the Holiday Blues. It can surface for a variety of reasons from unrealistic expectations and pressures to finances and commercialization. Hence, the first step in handling the holiday blues is to reflect on what may be causing your distress. Is it stress? Nostalgia? The looming contact with people you deem toxic? Here are some common causes for the holiday blues and how you can maintain your mental health during this season. While the Holiday Blues might not be an acute mental illness, it is a short-term mental health problem and should be taken seriously, as it can lead to more lingering symptoms.
So, it’s even more important to prioritize self-care. Showing up for yourself can be the most radical form of preventive care when it comes to your overall wellbeing.
Here are 3 quick and easy ways to incorporate some self-priority into your routine these next few weeks.
Avoid eating cold foods or drinking anything cold. It’s colder outside even in California! Eating cold foods at this time can create more stress in the body and increase anxiety and sleep issues, instead focus on warming dishes, warming spices, teas, and tonics to help calm your system. Sit less! Add mini-movement breaks into your day, a walk around the block, a 10-minute stress, dance to a favorite song, and play and/or with your fur baby! (I’ve been dancing to 70’s music lately!)
Nourish your system with rest and presence. There are so many ways to do this, but a few examples are: meditation, restorative yoga, somatic experiencing, walking in nature, or sipping tea slowly.
Watch this Video to learn more about reframing your stress!
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