The holiday season is often a time of joy and celebration, but for many, it can also bring about significant stress. The amount of times I hear the phrase “I have to” goes up significantly as soon as Halloween passes.
Newsflash: You don’t have to. You are choosing to.
I'm sharing practical steps for navigating this season's holiday stress and I'll complete the steps as I share them. If you've worked with me before, you know we won't be talking about how to wrap presents with the least amount of wrinkles. We'll go deep. If you're new here, you're in for a treat.
First thing is always first: let's build awareness.
Step 1: Name your Holiday Stress Triggers
Do you have unrealistic expectations? Are you overextending financially? Spending time in difficult or unpleasant family dynamics?
Acknowledge your situation and the accompanying feelings. Naming the experience takes away a lot of its power and helps you regulate your stress response. You might be quite surprised at what you're actually worried about.
Take Action:
Grab a plain piece of letter paper and pen. Draw a line down the center from top to bottom, creating two columns.
At the top of the left column, write the starter phrase I am worried…
At the top of the right column, write the starter phrase Because…
Now start writing. No one sees this but you. Be completely honest, and don’t stop writing until you don’t notice anything left in your head.
Read back over what you wrote. See what’s running around in your mind? Here’s the important part: Say out loud to yourself “Of course I’m stressed. No wonder this time is difficult.” Repeat whenever those thoughts come up.
Here's what I came up with.
Notice a theme? Me too, but that's for next time. Digging through stressors can be mentally taxing.
Here's where I read this outloud and respond with "Of course I'm stressed. No wonder I'm worried about this holiday season. This is a difficult situation with complex feelings, and I'm pretty sure anyone would feel similarly."
Time for self-care.
That's an order.
H
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