Blogmas Day 11 - Self-Care During the Holidays

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It is a wonderful time of the year, but also a time when we feel like we should be doing all the things. I know I do! make cookies, knit ornaments, gifts, blog post, exercise, do Christmas shopping, and the list goes on. This year is feeling so different because of Covid-19. Normally right now, I would be going into the office and we'd be doing festive gatherings and potlucks, and I would be shopping in stores and enjoying the Christmas displays. I would be seeing my family for our different traditions and we would be having people over to see our new home. This year however, we are mostly at home and times are tough not seeing loved ones and some are feeling isolated from the world. It is more important than ever to also take care of our mental health and wellbeing.

I've put together a list of things that help me to work on my self-care and wellbeing during the holidays. I also included some ideas I have found on the Internet to help promote wellbeing during the holidays. I will be making an effort to do these things in the list around Christmas to make sure I feel balanced. Please read below for some ideas on how to take care of yourself during the holidays.

1. Practice gratitude - Counting your blessings and really focusing on what you are grateful for around this time of the year is especially beneficial. Psychology today shares that it is something that is an excellent coping skill and it can be shared with others. They also include a lot of other self-care tips for the holidays. I write down three things that I am grateful for each morning using my Five Minute Journal. It has helped me to constantly think of what I have to be grateful for every morning. Even when it doesn't feeling like there is anything, I always come up with a few. We do have a lot of things to be grateful for especially this year it puts a lot into perspective.

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2. Log off from work at a set time: Have a set time you log off from work and don't go past that time. I am bad for this one. I say I will only work overtime until 6 (1 hour more) and then end up working until 7. This holiday season, I want to think of my stress levels and take care of myself and log off to have dinner and enjoy my evening.

3. Eat healthy- This time of the year it is so easy to just eat cookies, chocolate, and junk food as food groups because we are in holiday-mode (me). But it is good to remember to eat healthy as well and stay healthy so our bodies are also happy during this time of celebration. I get a bit stressed if I think I am going off my normal diet and eating way too much junk or carbs. If I add some veggies in my diet in between meals or celebrations then I feel more on track.

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4. Get enough sleep - Around this time of year, it is usually so busy with work, errands, and lots on the to-do list. It is important to get enough sleep. I am thinking of myself as I write this because I had a really tiring day the other day because I didn't make sleep a priority and it affects my whole day. To keep us functioning at our best and enjoy the holidays, we need those z's.

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5. Watch a Christmas or holiday movies. There are so many Christmas movies out there and they always have one thing in common, they are heartwarming and always put us in the Christmas spirit.  I was watching Jingle All the Way one night this week which is one of my favourites. Sometimes they are corny or overdone, but they are so comforting. In the photo below is pictures It's a Wonderful Life. I love this movie and it is my Christmas Eve tradition to watch it.

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6. Take a day off - Today I took the day off from work. I like to take a day off from work here and there during the holidays, just to catch up on rest, work on my goals for Christmas, and do some Christmas shopping for gifts. It has been a good day so far reading, knitting, and making Liam and I smoothies. Now I am going to post this blog and go around to finally catch up on reading others' blogs. If you aren't working, still taking a day off with no chores or things you need to do is important to do things you enjoy to relax.

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7. Chat with family and friends - For me, chatting with my family is a way for me to enjoy myself, recharge, and reconnect. Sometimes it is always so helpful to chat out my feelings or thoughts and they provide some advice.  It is a busy time of the year, but now that we are all in quarantine it is nice to come together if even in a way different way than our usual. It is good to keep in contact with those important people in our lives and after a good long chat with people I care about all feels right in the world.

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8 Meditate- I recently started meditating again when restarting the Miracle Morning savers. I forgot how good I feel during and afterwards. It is so helpful to just sit quietly for even 5 minutes and close your eyes to relax and help to clear your mind. I want to incorporate more meditation into my routine and use it as a tool whenever I am feeling stressed. The Harvard Medical School website includes deep breathing and other forms of relaxation in their list . They provide a list on their website here of other relaxation techniques I haven't tried before such as guided imagery and body scan.

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I am no expert on this topic, and I am still am working on all of these things myself. Everyone has their own needs to recharge and take care of themselves. What are some things that help you to self-care during the holidays to improve your wellbeing? 

While thinking of this topic, I found so much information and resources online to help to work on self-care during the holidays. I enjoyed reading through many sites and I will be using and putting to work a lot of these tips this year. Here are some other resources for self care during the holidays you can check out:

Harvard Medical School - Prioritzing the "me" in Merry

The Well - 9 Simple Self-Care Tops for the Holidays

Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life - Self-Care Practices for the Holidays (they include what to do if you are experiencing certain emotions, very helpful if you just don't know how to make yourself feel better during a difficult feeling)

Thank you for joining me for Blogmas Day 11! Please join me again tomorrow for another Blogmas Post! Please click here for my other Blogmas posts so far. 

Have a great day!

Blogmas Day 23: Wellbeing at Christmas

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to post today on how to de-stress or take care of mental health around the holidays. It can be stressful with buying gifts for everyone on your list, and some last minute rushing around, baking for holiday parties, and making sure everything is perfect and ready for the holidays. I know I have been feeling some of that holiday stress lately and here are some things that have worked for me and have worked for others along with some tips I have read online.

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1. Spend time on relaxing activities 

In the flurry of crossing things off our to-do lists and rushing around here to there, it can really work wonders for our mental health and wellbeing if we simply take time out to relax. I have found that just sitting on the couch and putting on a Christmas Hallmark movie and knitting can help me to feel less stressed. Or you can watch any other TV show or movie and kick back or meditate or just read a book. By doing this, it gives us time away from the to-do list and refreshes our spirit and we feel better prepared to go back and tackle the to-dos afterwards.

2. Spend time with loved ones and friends 

It helps this time of the year to spend time with family and friends and share good times and laughter. This helps us to curb the stress and overwhelm of this time of the year. Today I spent time with my Fiance's family and had a great time and this helped me to take a break from my list and things to buy for awhile and to enjoy myself.

3. Get organized

Organizing your space can help to make you feel back in control of your surroundings and of things you need to do and help you to do those things. Woman's Day advises that even organizing the gift wrap box and tidying that up can help you feel like you are in control again. A lot of the time we can feel stressed because our surroundings have become chaotic. I will go and tidy up my git wrap right now...

4.  Get more sleep 

Sleep is so important all year round but will help especially at Christmas or during the holidays when we feel most stressed. Mental Health Foundation advises that at Christmas our sleep patterns can be particularly disturbed at this time of year with parties and other events and we need to take our sleep in consideration.

5. Practice gratitude

It is a great time to slow down and focus on the good things that are happening and what we are grateful for. Network of Wellbeing  suggests to write a list of five things you are grateful for at this time of the year or in your life and then to see how you feel afterwards. I know I usually feel happier and less stressed when I take a moment to write down what I am grateful for. I try to write down three things I am grateful for everyday and this usually helps me to feel more at peace and happy by focusing my attention on things that are going right instead of things that are not.

What are some ways you relax or de-stress during the holidays?

Thank you for visiting my blog for blogmas day 23. Join me again for Christmas Eve tomorrow for blogmas day 24! I will be talking about what I am doing for Christmas Eve and traditions and also sharing a DIY mason jar craft.

Have a great day!