The brain regions involved in the experience of anxiety Anxiety is a common mental health issue that affects millions of people around the world. Recent…
With all the gifts to buy and wrap, food to cook, friends to meet, and parties to attend to, it seems that Christmas can turn into a stressful chore than a pleasant vacation. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are ways on how you can turn this busy season into a pleasant experience that both you and your loved ones can share. Published by Hypnosis in London on 21 Dec 2015, written by Malminder Gill.
Here are tips on how you can have a stress-free holiday celebration:
Take care of yourself first
Christmas is all about giving and with a massive list of to-dos, it’s easy to forget that we need to take care of ourselves too. The holiday stress can compromise our immune system. And if we end up getting sick as a result of it, then all the efforts for Christmas preparation will only be useless.
One of the things you can do to take care of yourself during the holidays is to set a time each day doing things that you love. It can be a hobby or simple self-care practices like meditation, journaling, or self-hypnosis. Study shows that self-hypnosis can significantly reduce anxiety and distress. When you’re more relaxed, you’re less likely to feel irritable when dealing with more challenging situations.
Plan ahead
Procrastination is a stressor. The more you delay in doing something especially in busy seasons like Christmas, the more likely you’re exposing yourself to added stress. One thing you can do to avoid this is to plan things ahead of time.
Make a list of things that you need to do including gifts to buy, events to attend to, and food to prepare. You may also want to write down a realistic budget for each gift and time to allot for every event and food to prepare.
Live up to your own your expectations
Every year, we are bombarded with ideas of how Christmas should be like – festive food, parties here and there, gift-giving, and so much more. But is this your idea of Christmas? If it’s not, then go ahead and celebrate the season the way you like it. After all, Christmas is all about having a meaningful celebration with the people who matter most to you.
Stop overcommitting
It’s part of human nature to allow for more time in the future than what is available. As a result, we end up taking more responsibilities than what we can actually handle. This is overcommitting and it’s a surefire way to end up in burnout.
When you catch yourself in the brink of overcommitting, ask yourself the following questions before saying yes to anything:
- Is this aligned with my top priorities?
- If I say ‘yes’ to this, what are the things that I must give up?
- Do I really have the time to do this?
Practice Self-Hypnosis
Don’t wait for stress to creep up on you. Doing relaxation techniques like self-hypnosis can help you manage stress before it controls you. Studies have shown that practicing self-hypnosis can help alleviate stress and reduce the effects of stress on the immune system.
You can download my hypnotherapy MP3 to help you manage stress better especially this busy, holiday season.
Do the 7/11 Breathing Technique
The 7/11 breathing technique is something I use in my practice because it relaxes the body and the mind. When clients come to my practice, I usually start each session with this breathing technique.
Doing the 7/11 breathing technique is simple. All you need to do is breathe in counting to 7 and breathe out counting to 11. Repeat this for 5 cycles. My clients find this extremely relaxing and beneficial.
You can further multiple the effects of relaxation by downloading one of my hypnotherapy Mp3’s where I cover a range of topics from anxiety to confidence. All Mp3’s are designed to relax the mind and body whilst improving your well-being.
Remember that you are more than capable of handling stress. So don’t give into it just because people say it’s part of the holidays.
If you need further help in managing stress, you can reach out to me. I’ve already helped thousands of clients including corporate executives in addressing critical issues like stress, anxiety, and weight problems. You can contact me through this link.