How To Put Your Wellness First This Holiday Season

The holidays are always such a busy time, we find ourselves spread so thin - like too little butter over toast.

But this year feels even tougher for some reason…

Perhaps it’s that for most of this year we’ve been told to take things one day at a time and now we’re told to plan events and catch-ups to make sure we can see everyone we’ve missed so dearly throughout the year. Perhaps it’s that our IRL social skills are a bit rusty, while our Zoom techniques are tuned finer than ever!

In this period of intensity, we want to remind you, our beautiful community of strong and resilient survivors, to look after yourself inside and out. This time is stressful every year, add the events of 2020 and it can feel all too much... 

The thing to remember is that it’s absolutely normal and understandable to have these feelings of anxiety about navigating our post-lockdown world and the holiday season.

We have put together a little guide of some small and big things that we can all do to nourish our souls and bodies over the holiday period. It’s important to try to be kind to yourself this season, if you only get one of these tricks done once it is still something to nourish your soul; be proud of yourself and celebrate the little wins instead of commemorating the losses.

Here are five ways to put your wellness first this season:

Do something once a day that is just for you

This can be a skincare routine, having a coffee eat-in rather than on the go, a skin scrub in the shower, anything! It can be as small or as big as you want. Before you start this task, say out loud: “This is for me, I love myself and I nourish my body and my soul.” Setting this intention will remind you of why you are caring for yourself; because you are beautiful and strong and you deserve love from yourself and the world around you.

Meditate for 10 minutes each day

I used to be intimidated by meditation, I found it so hard to quiet my mind and focus on “nothing”, while it seemed so easy for other people! Then I was told about a mindfulness activity where I count the number of objects in a room that are the same colour - focus solely on the colours and objects and suddenly you’re practicing mindfulness meditation. Practicing mindfulness for just 10 minutes a day has been proven to have incredible effects at reducing the grey matter in your brain’s amygdala - a region known for its role in stress.

Put yourself into bed earlier - just 20 minutes

The more you do this the more your body will be ready for sleep earlier. Try to keep yourself in bed rather than getting up and completing a task if you can’t fall asleep straight away. Resting is still a very important thing for your body and your soul. If you find your mind racing, try reading a book instead of turning on a screen, which aids in getting to sleep by reducing blue light exposure.

Go for a walk in nature

It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be in the middle of a rainforest, it just needs to be somewhere that you can take some time to be surrounded by nature. Studies have shown that movement, even a slow meander, improves self-perception and self esteem, mood and sleep quality, and reduces stress, anxiety and fatigue. Try to be kind to yourself, if you cannot go for a walk every day it is not something to be ashamed of. Rather, it is important to celebrate the days you do and understand that the creation of good habits takes time and effort, even a little goes a long way.

BONUS TIP:

Try to put yourself and your feelings first in a way you usually wouldn’t do…

This is a challenge to each and every one of you. Try to, at least once over this holiday season, put your feelings first and vocalise it. It can be small; instead of saying “Good” when a friend asks how you’re doing, be honest and open about how you’re really feeling that day! 

Our days and moods are not simply good or bad, we can say we feel grateful, not ourselves, excited for the Christmas shutdown period or just too tired to think. When you accept your feelings just as they are you are telling yourself it is okay to be feeling however you are, there is no shame in having a bad day just as there is no shame in having a great day.

Perhaps instead of just cancelling on plans with the excuse of “I had something else on and I had forgotten!”, you could try to be open and honest about why you feel like you can’t make it. Perhaps you’ve just been running around like crazy and you’re simply too tired, perhaps you’re having a really tough day.

REACH OUT TO A FRIEND

Our challenge to you is to be honest with your tribe and, more importantly, with yourself! You could challenge yourself by texting a friend when you’re having a tough day and ask if they are free for a quick phone call or a walk.

These are challenging times, it’s important to take care of and nurture yourself in this period of immense change. Everything you do for yourself is a positive, but there is no need to feel guilty for the things you don’t do. Be kind to yourselves and to others, give yourself grace and remember the whole point of the holiday season is not to focus on the negatives but to come together and celebrate the positives.

Words By Alexandra Romanyk

All Artwork By Paulina Borowska