How to Take Care of Yourself in the Craziness of Family Gatherings and Office Christmas Parties This Year
It’s Your Holiday Too
1. Try to breathe deeply
Deep inhalation, hold, and long exhalation. Again deep inhalation, hold, and long exhalation. Inhale through your nose, fill your belly with air and let it out through your mouth. Take another inhale and sigh out loud.
May you feel a little lighter.
2. Give yourself some space
Stress causes emotions to rise to the surface. But rather than feeling them, we shove them aside, to be dealt with in the future. Hopefully never.
It’s easy to fall into this trap when you’re surrounded by people. Some of which you don’t necessarily like but try to get along with for the duration of the festivities.
This year try to give your feelings some space. Do a meditation, go for a walk, and sit on a bench to watch the birds go about their day.
Take time for yourself. You deserve it.
3. Ask for help
But you don’t have to do everything on your own. You are allowed to ask for help. Try it. Tell your brother you need someone to talk to about the thoughts circling in your head. Ask your significant other to help you wrap the presents this year instead of doing it all on your own. Share the burden of cooking for the whole invited party by assigning each of them one type of food. Uncle Herbert brings Christmas cookies for dessert, while your sister-in-law handles pre-dinner food.
This way, you have less work to do, and the dinner is a collective burden. Giving you all a shared feeling of achievement and appreciation for each other.
4. Be patient
Perfectionism is an illusion. When you do something, and not just talk about doing it, there will always be something that doesn’t go according to plan. Life just doesn’t work that way. So be patient with yourself and don’t expect miracles.
5. Move
Roll out your yoga mat. Set up your computer and chose the video that speaks to you at this moment.
Put on your walking boots. Get out your coat and leave the house for a little bit. Even if it’s just for a walk around your neighbourhood.
Listen to your favourite song. Sing, dance, or hop around the christmas tree. Whatever feels right at this moment.
And if you don’t feel like moving at all. Give it a try. Do the first step and see where it takes you.
6. You will not find your answer on Google
And Pinterest is not able to help you as well. Don’t try to find the solution to your problems in internet life advice. They can be inspiring when you are at a good point in your life. When you don’t feel confident in yourself, nothing good comes out of looking up tips. It only makes it worse. You are the only one who knows the answer to whatever you are searching for.
7. Ask yourself
What do I need right now?
If you don’t get an answer, try to do something that you normally enjoy doing. Like doodling on the corner of your workbook, folding laundry, or baking a lemon cake. Maybe then an answer will come. And if not, you are already doing something you enjoy. That’s always a good start.
8. Prepare a cup
If it’s tea, coffee, hot or cold chocolate it doesn’t really matter. The act of preparing a drink for yourself to enjoy feels like an event in and of itself. While also giving you an excellent reason to find a quiet place to nurse your cup and stick your nose into a good book. Nothing beats a break with a cup of your favourite drink.
9. Create something
Do something with your hands, to get out of your head. Compared to moving your body to switch off, creating has the benefit of requiring brain space as well. You can’t just go through the motions while still being wholly immersed in your head. Nothing good will come out of that. You need to let go, a little bit at least, in order to enter the creating zone. Which doesn’t mean you need an empty mind to create. It happens through the process when you allow your feelings to manifest in the work you are creating. That’s how art manifests.
10. Cry if you feel like it
If you feel like crying, do it. After a good cry, you always feel better. Suppressing emotions can cause even more stress than you are trying to handle right now. You don’t have to bully yourself into not crying. It’s okay to let the tears flow.
We are humans, thus we cry. We cry from sadness as well as from joy. The stronger the emotion the higher the probability of wet eyes.
So let’s embrace our teary faces along with our genuine laughs. Those that bring out our wrinkles, dimples, and double chins. Where we can see teeth and makeup smudges. It’s when we are at our most beautiful.
In this sense: I wish you all a holly jolly Christmas. Don’t forget to take care of yourself.
