4 Ways To Keep Anxiety In Check During The Holiday Season
You can literally feel your anxiety building as the calendar inches closer and closer to the holidays.
The snow is falling. Christmas music is playing on the radio. And the lights are shining off the tops of trees, bushes, and houses in your neighborhood. For most, it’s the happiest time of the year. You’d like to feel this way, too, but you’re feeling a little bit like Scrooge or the Grinch if you’re being honest with yourself.
The holidays are great. You don’t hate them. You just aren’t a fan of the added pressure and stress of this time of the year.
If anxiety were a decoration, you’d have enough to decorate your house and even your entire neighborhood.
Here are four ways to keep your anxiety in check during the holiday season.
1. Practice Self-Care
Self-care isn’t selfish. When life is feeling a little chaotic this time of year, it’s even more important for you to make time for yourself. Self-care means making time for yourself, and it looks different for everyone. It’s the time during the day when you can rest, unwind, and recharge to have the energy for whatever the next day brings you. Here are just a few of the different ways you can practice self-care:
2. Implement Relaxation Techniques
If you’re struggling this time of year, try coming up with a plan in place to help the next time the stress and anxiety creeps in. Having relaxation techniques or coping mechanisms ready and at your disposal can help you be a little more proactive rather than reactive when it comes to your anxiety. Here are just a few of the coping mechanisms that you can test and try out for yourself:
Deep breathing
Go for a walk outside
Journal
Listen to music
Meditate
Repeat a mantra
Visualization technique
Yoga
3. Take Care of Yourself
Taking care of yourself is extremely important, especially when you’re feeling stressed or anxious. Anxiety can cause you to dismiss your own wants and needs. It may even cause you to change your eating or sleeping habits.
Try to get ahead of this and focus on eating healthy and well-balanced meals. You should aim to eat between three to five meals daily. Make it easier on yourself by planning the meals for the week ahead, going grocery shopping, and meal prepping. This can help you avoid skipping meals and fueling your body properly to function to the best of its ability.
Don’t forget about drinking water as well. This time of year can also tempt you with drinks and desserts. Don’t completely restrict yourself. Everything is okay in moderation. Follow the 80/20 rule. Make sure you balance it all with healthy meals at least 80% of the time!
Sleep is another area of your life that can be negatively impacted by anxiety. It can cause you to either not get enough sleep or to oversleep. You should be aiming for at least eight hours of sleep each night. Try to go to bed around the same time each night and wake up around the same time each morning to get your body’s internal clock on a good schedule.
4. Seek Additional Support
This time of year can bring stress and anxiety to a lot of people. You’re not alone if you’re feeling this way. Asking for help is one of the strongest things you can do. The longer you go on feeling this way without reaching out for help, the worse your signs and symptoms can get. A licensed and trained mental health professional can help you get back to living your life to the fullest and enjoying the holidays again, anxiety-free. Reach out to set up a consultation for anxiety therapy.
