The holiday season is here! If you’re ready for fabulous eyebrows or glowing skin, you have time to pamper yourself before the new year.
This time of year should be a time filled with joy, yet not everyone feels that way as for most people this month is filled with obligations and stress. We worry ourselves into a frenzy trying to be everything to everyone and can easily get to a point where we completely forget to take care of ourselves. It is normal to experience a wide range of emotions during the holiday season. Many factors can contribute to creating an unhappy holiday, but there are some things you can do to take care of yourself.
To help you out, here are the 5 tips that will help you to get back on track and keep sane, healthy, and happy:
Practice Self-Care
You need to have some commitment to dedicate time to care for yourself. You need to stick to your commitment and follow the routine religiously. Give yourself permission to take care of your personal needs, permission to decline certain events, permission not to feel pressured to host events, permission not to overspend. In a very real sense, we teach people how to treat us. If we don’t give ourselves permission to do what is best for our physical and emotional well-being, others won’t either.
Learn To Say “NO”
Remember, you and your time, money, and emotional/psychological/social needs matter and are important. Our culture tends to encourage exhaustion with a “keep going, keep working, keep giving” mindset – these are the kinds of messages that drain us during the holidays. It takes courage to buck the trend and exercise your “NO” muscle. When we take care of ourselves, we have more to give, and we give out of fullness, not exhaustion.
Schedule Some Personal Time For Yourself
We are all refueled in different ways. When the holidays are stressful, it’s important that you are refueling yourself before you can reasonably expect to pour out for others. Maybe you’ll grant yourself 15 minutes a day to read a good book over a cup of coffee. Or perhaps light some candles and draw yourself a scented bubble bath at the end of a long day to relax before going to bed. Physical exercise helps restore our energy and lift our mood, so maybe you could take a walk at the park, on the beach, or along a trail while taking time to enjoy the scenery.
Get More Sleep
Sleep provides your body with time to heal and re-energize. A lack of sleep not only takes its toll on your immune system, but it makes you tired and cranky! Make a commitment to get at least 8 full hours of sleep and watch the positive impacts that it has on your mood and the rest of your life!
Connect With Others
Remember that the real purpose of the holidays is to connect with your loved ones. As human beings, we need to love and be loved. So as you’re making your holiday plans, focus on how your activities can help you make emotional connections. The more intimacy we have, the more resilient we are.
I hope you found these tips for self-care during the holidays helpful so you can start implementing immediately to help save your sanity and energy this holiday season. I encourage you to take out your planner right now and write down the one thing you are going to try today or tomorrow. See if you can truly enjoy some of the festivities this year by taking a moment to care for yourself. Happy Holidays!
Kindly,
Amanda Gant, RDH, B.S.
p.s. Remember to schedule some “me-time!”
p.p.s. Share this with a loved one who needs a bit of pampering too.