Time for self-care

Hopefully, this Holiday Season will bring you joy and time for self-care!

Taking time to be with family and friends is super important. So is keeping yourself well, especially as we all know that the end of the year can be stressful due to work-related deadlines for many of us.

How to reduce stress at Christmas? How to stay well, fit and relaxed and remove the anxiousness that most of us have experienced around us?

Here are the 9 tips we recommend for self-care:

1) Switch off your mobile device during the holidays. This enables you to be more present with your environment, family, and friends. Stoping the constant information flow will allow you to calm stress and anxiety and become more present.

2) Listen to the silence. Don’t look only for absolute silence, but instead try to locate the small gaps of silence in between words, sounds, or even thoughts. Every time we put music or radio on, watch TV shows, etc, we introduce an element that differs from silence. We consume in many ways, the sound being one of many – take care that in the 21st century where silence is considered a rare resource of nature, you don’t self-introduce noise pollution.

Christmas in its essence is a time to look within yourself – silence around and within you enables it in the best way. You may notice that it isn't easy at all to let go of all the thoughts and worries. Building a rapport with the present moment offers a valuable anchor. Notice where your feet are, the smell of a candle burning, and gingerbread cookies. The present moment is wherever you are – always available.

3) When you feel tense, take a warm bath, go to a SPA or even a sauna. This enables you to relax your physical body and the tensions it is experiencing. If you love sports then you can run, go to the gym or skiing or skating before that. It feels even greater after some sort of intense physical activity.

4) Drink plenty of tea and water. To stay hydrated matters. Most people drink too little water and too much coffee and/or soft drinks. While those may taste good, those drinks do not restore vitality the same way as herbal teas and water.

5) Take a longer walk (even if you went running earlier). If possible walk slowly in nature – in the nearest forest, park, beach, or riverside. There is definitely someplace peaceful where you can go. Walk slow and notice where you are, it will allow a deeper contact with the silence and present moment.

6) Take time to talk to family or a close friend. If this isn't possible in person, make a phone call. You do remember that there are people who are happy to hear your voice? And if you can't do this, write down all the experiences that you are grateful for this year. For sure there were plenty of good ones as well as the ones you learned from!

8) Read a good book. It may not be as stimulating as social media or TV, but it for sure allows you to gain deeper insights and inspiration. If it is a spiritual or self-leadership book you may learn something new about yourself. If it is mental wellness book you may learn how to re-evaluate your own well-being. If you feel that books are too long then here are some articles that you can read.

7) Remember to sleep well! One of the most common reasons for our chronic tiredness is lack of sleep. Lack of sleep also reduces our ability to focus, work, enjoy life, and stay physically well. Sleeping well is important for adults and also for your whole family. Kids who have slept well are less moody. So keeping a sleep rhythm for you and your kids is how to take the stress out of Christmas!

9) Remember what you really loved to do – find a moment and do this! Take some high-quality time for what you love and enjoy the flow that comes with it. After all, being in the flow is using your awareness and awareness of what you do to be fully present and enjoy the NOW!
 

How to take the stress out of Christmas?

And if you still feel stressed after all of this, then we kindly remind you to take a stress test and spend 25 minutes learning about yourself. Knowing your actual stress score allows you to start looking for solutions and removes doubts and worry.

Or if you already have a membership with Wellness Orbit, please take a moment to re-visit your active online training and invest wisely in improving the quality of your life.

Thank you for being with us!

This mental wellness blog post is kindly made available for you by Kaur Lass