Do you feel like your mental health slips a bit during the holidays?
I know I do.
The stressors of normal life and all that includes, seem to expand because of the additional holiday stressors that arrive on our doorstep.
The packed schedule with social gatherings, holiday parties, client meetings, special school events and don’t even get me started on the expense and time to do holiday shopping, baking and coordinating travel to visit family and friends!
It can be exhausting and overwhelming.
And for some of us, that can make the holiday season not so much fun.
Now I love Christmas. And I dig into the Joy and spirit of it as deeply as I can.
But even I am challenged doing that sometimes.
This year is especially difficult for personal reasons that I will not bore you with. But let’s just say the stress level is higher than ever. And because of that, it is challenging me to really feel the Joy of the season.
And I’m feeling my mental health slip as a result.
I realize many of us are dealing with lots of challenges: maybe this is the first Christmas without a loved one. Maybe your finances are strapping you more than ever and buying gifts for your kids is just not possible. Maybe you are challenged with your health and not feeling up to dealing with the holidays.
Life can sometimes be really hard. So hard that we ask, why me? Why is this happening? What did I do to cause this toxicity, pain and suffering?
So what do you do? How do you make it through the holidays (and life in general) when you are feeling this way?
Once I realized I was not up to par on my mental fitness, I started prioritizing my self care. Now for those of you rolling your eyes about right now, hear me on this: self care is your foundation. If you are not taking care of yourself…body, mind, and soul; you are setting yourself up to fall.
Maybe not this holiday season, but it will come.
We must lay a strong foundation to build an incredible life. And self care is what fortifies your foundation and ultimately your mental health.
So as soon as I felt mentally depleted: seeing myself getting angry quickly, feeling tired all the time, and seeing life from a negative perspective, I realized it was time to really dig into my Mental Self Care.
So this is what I did:
🛌 I went to bed earlier. (My bed time had slipped to 11pm or later, which is waaaay too late for this girl).
☀️ I got up earlier. (6am is my goal, but I’m happy if I get up at 6:30a. My up time had been slipping to 7, 7:30 or even 8a!)
🧘 I used my new morning time for meditation, journaling, visualization, positive affirmations and reading. (I told you I was really digging in!)
🏋️ I committed to strength training and cardio 4-5 times each week.
**Side note: exercise is great for your body, but it is equally great for your mental health. Start exercising to feel better. Who cares about the number on the scale? Start focusing on how you feel overall. I promise you, a 20 minute walk is a miracle cure. Try it!
🍷 I also started really paying attention to what I put into my body….quantity and quality. That included food, water, coffee and wine.
And you know something? I feel better. It sounds like a lot of things to do, but really, it’s not. It’s just putting one foot in front of the other. It’s doing things that are good for you.
It’s practicing Self Love.
When you make the rule that you will put yourself first and only do what is good for you and what enhances your self love, you will be on the best mental and physical health program for you.
Diets, exercise programs, sleep aids….they don’t work. Not in the long term.
The solution is loving yourself. Loving yourself so much that it shows up in every single area of your life because of the new choices you are making.
Your relationships improve. Your job is more enjoyable. Your finances stabilize. Your perception becomes hopeful and positive. And your physical and mental health is so great that you don’t even have to think about it. You can just Be.
Even during the holiday season. 🎄
Tonight’s self care includes watching a Hallmark Christmas movie with popcorn! How about you?
You can Emerge Positive!
Positively,
deanne
🎁📚 Looking for a meaningful gift for someone on your holiday shopping list? Get the Emerge Positive Affirmation book for FREE when you buy Mindset Matters. Go here to purchase.
This holiday offer is only available until December 10th or until supplies last.
