Look After Your Wellbeing This Holiday Season Using the Mind Strength Method
Feeling a bit burnt out in the lead up to this holiday season? You’re not alone. This year has been overwhelming for many and with the festive season around the corner you might be sitting with a level of stress, unease, low mood or even burnout. So what can you do to move from anxiety and stress to resilience and recharge?
Fortunately, there are ways to successfully manage stress and anxiety throughout this busy time of year. Try the following four steps from the Mind Strength Method to help you to curb anxiety and stress, conquer worry and thrive through the festive season.
Become Aware of Your Stressors
While we all feel stress throughout the holidays, the particulars vary from person to person. Some people can experience financial stress over Christmas while others might worry about not being good enough, or being judged negatively, as family get-togethers and Christmas parties approach. Those who suffer from perfectionism might find themselves stressing over selecting and wrapping the perfect presents and cooking award-worthy meals. For those who have recently lost loved ones, the holidays might be filled with grief or loneliness.
Step One of The Mind Strength Method is focused on building self-awareness. Give yourself the space to reflect on your thoughts, feelings and actions.
What are the worry stories?
What are the worry stories that play out in your mind – it might be fear of missing out, fear of negative judgement or fear of not being good enough. Can you notice the worry thoughts as a story and see if you can get some distance from that story?
How does stress show up for you?
Our body gives us signs when we’re stressed. Stress can manifest itself physically in many different ways. We can only change what we’re aware of in the first place. Can you build some awareness of the signs that show up for you? Some common signs include muscle tension, headaches, trouble sleeping, irritability and many other bodily experiences.
When you become more aware of how stress is manifesting in your body you can respond more effectively with practical action, self-compassion and kindness around what’s in your control.
What are the fear-driven actions you engage in?
Often, we get caught up in the worry stories that play out in our minds. When we listen to worry it might lead to behaviours such as avoidance, being passive or feeling like you need to be perfect in order to be okay. Can you notice the fight or flight driven actions and bring the focus back to your heart and the pull towards a values-driven direction in line with things that are important to you over this holiday season? This takes us to Step 2 of The Mind Strength Method.
2. Become Aware of Your Values
It’s easy to get lost in going through the motions over Christmas and New Year. The holidays come with a lot of expectations, and these expectations can cause stress and anxiety. Rarely do we stop and ask ourselves - Why am I doing this? or What’s important to me?
Reflect on what gives you a sense of meaning and fulfilment this time of year. What do you value? Clarity on your values gives you meaning and an overarching sense of purpose that can help you to make purposeful choices that work for you through the holiday season and beyond.
Ask yourself - What are your favourite parts of the holiday season? Is it travelling to see loved ones? Is it seeing the expressions on your children’s faces when they open their presents? Family traditions like preparing particular dishes? There are likely multiple things that bring you joy during the holidays. By focusing on those value-driven actions you can take ownership of this busy time of the year and enjoy it more. For more insights on your values you can pick up my values cards online at mindstrength.com.au/shop to help you or your loved ones to get clarity on your values this holiday season. You can then align your new year’s resolutions to embracing values-driven goals and actions and living your life in line with your values.
3. Embrace the Mind Strength Toolkit to Build Resilience
Step 3 in my bestselling book The Mind Strength Method: Four Steps to Curb Anxiety Conquer Worry and Build Resilience is a Mind Strength Toolkit jam-packed with practical tools and techniques to boost confidence, feel more positive and build resilience – all keys to helping you bounce back from the challenges that you might have experienced throughout the year and help you to thrive through the holiday season and the years ahead.
After identifying what causes you stress and what your values are, try practicing some examples below to help you to dissolve stress.
Breathe: The adrenaline released during periods of stress and anxiety can make your heart rate increase and cause your breathing to become rapid. While many people will tell you to ‘breathe deeply’ when we’re stressed it’s highly effective to focus on long, slow out breaths and then let your lungs fill up naturally on the inhale. Add a short pause between each exhale and exhale slowly through pursed lips to keep the pace relaxed. See if you can visualise blowing the stress and worry away with each out breath.
Observe: Worry takes you into all sorts of negative possibilities about the future. This internal fear-driven focus keeps anxiety alive. The key to overcoming this is to turn your attention outwards and mindfully engage with what’s going on around you. You can do this by engaging all five of your senses - listen to the sounds around you, look at what’s surrounding you, take in the smell of the space you’re in and touch the surfaces within reach to ground yourself. Mealtime is a great opportunity to go through the senses with some mindful eating.
Move from Worry to Problem Solving: After getting some distance from the worry story, can you practice moving from worry about the possibility of something bad happening to problem-solving and action planning around what’s in your control.
4. Create a Wellbeing Plan
Step 4 of The Mind Strength Method is a comprehensive wellbeing pyramid and tools to build out your wellbeing plan.
Having a clear wellbeing plan for the holiday season makes it easier to stand up to the voice of worry and alleviate anxiety. Here are some tips from the Mind Strength Wellbeing Pyramid for staying healthy in the holiday season…
1. Balance
Sometimes we overindulge in response to social stress, peer pressure, or just the easy availability of food and alcohol with all the lunches and dinners we go to at this time of year but what you eat and drink around these events doesn’t have to be so indulgent. Make healthy food choices and see if you can reduce alcohol consumption through planning your meals at home to get the nutrition and balance you need. Remember that by keeping the amount of alcohol to a reasonable level you can dodge the hangover that might make you feel out of sorts the next day and contribute to low mood and anxiety.
2. Exercise
Movement is key to reducing stress and anxiety at any time and it’s a great way to shake off holiday stress. You can exercise while you enjoy the festive feeling of this time of year such as taking a walk around your neighbourhood or other areas or catch up with friends for a walk or outdoor activity.
3. Rest
When you’re overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s easy for sleep to fall to the bottom of your to-do list but a lack of sleep impacts your mood, energy levels, physical health and contributes to stress and anxiety. Prioritise getting your sleep is always a good move.
4. Practice Gratitude
Be thankful for the positive things about this holiday season. Focus on the positive things that have happened throughout the year, as well as the things you are grateful for right now.
What we focus on grows and while circumstances are not always in your control, you have the power to choose how you respond. By aligning to your values, you can create a values-driven plan to enjoy the holiday season - all while minimising stress and anxiety.
Much love, Dr Jodie
