How To Keep Your Mind, Body, And Spirit Healthy During The Holidays

The holidays are full of so much excitement. Many people are hosting or attending parties, and you have the opportunity to spend time with those who you love. The decorations everywhere you go are beautiful. You can enjoy splurging on delicious food while worrying about getting back into shape after the new year. What is there not to like when it comes to the holidays? It all sounds like fun, right?

Here is the thing. Even though there is a lot of excitement with the holidays, it is a time that many people dread because of how much stress the holidays bring. And the holiday stress can damage the mind, body, and spirit. That is why it is common to hear about those struggling with holiday stress facing disconnection, burnout, and depletion. Not to mention, it is when people feel the effects of financial strain because of gift buying. However, it does not have to be, which is why there are helpful tips on how to keep your mind, body, and spirit healthy during the holidays.

Attend Fewer Holiday Parties If They Stress You

How are you spending your time during this holiday season? Do you have three parties to attend this week? When you receive a holiday party invitation, you may RSVP “yes” out of excitement. But after that, when you think about these parties, do you feel a wave of dread coming towards you? That is when it is time to determine whether you are going to these holiday parties because you want to go genuinely or are doing it out of obligation. You did say you were attending, but remember that things can change. If it is a work or family function, you may not have a choice.

So if that is the case, go to the party but spend less time there and head home early. But if an acquaintance is throwing a party and even if you agreed to attend, you don’t think you can handle any more parties, then you can always tell them that you are unwell and apologize for not going. These parties or gift exchanges don’t nourish your soul if you feel nothing but dread when you think of them. Therefore, spend your time relaxing at home, doing something that nourishes you, like reading a good book or watching a good movie. All you can do is remember for the following holiday season only to agree to attend a few essential holiday functions.

Stay Mindful During The Holiday Season

Mindfulness is one of the best practices you can utilize when it comes to nourishing your mind, body, and spirit because you are being immersed in the present moment. And that is what you will want to do during the holiday season. Pay attention to your feelings without changing or judging them. Just be aware and allow yourself to have these emotions. Are you angry, annoyed, sad, or anxious? Or are you happy, content, or hopeful? Pay attention to how you feel so you can observe your position and your breathing and find out where in your body you are holding the stress. You can do a body scan and find out how to calm yourself.

Maybe all you need is to take a walk or eat something nourishing. Especially if you are having a conflict with someone. That is why mindfulness is important because you will see what you need during the present moment to feel better. It is easy to get caught up in worrying about what could go wrong in the future or dredging up something that upset you from the past and causing you to stress over that during the holidays on top of the other issues causing tension. Therefore, practicing mindfulness is the best way to cope and a great form of self-care.

Embrace The Imperfections

Imagine hosting a holiday meal with family and friends, and then the next thing you know, you have a roast in the oven, and you leave it in a little longer than planned. Therefore, you unintentionally burn some of the roast, and then you understandably become upset. Therefore, in this incident, even though most of the roast is fine, you are extremely upset by burning part of the roast, which affects the ideal dinner you want to serve your friends and family. And you are upset by this situation. Not only has it added extra stress to you, but it has caused you to become irritable and caused you not to enjoy the concept of having your friends and family around for the holidays.

Therefore, the message here is to embrace imperfections that will happen during the holidays, whether you are the one who is hosting a party if you are attending a party, or if you accidentally rip the gift paper you use to wrap a gift, misbehaving children, or a drink spilling. The list can go on what could go wrong, in your eyes, during the holidays are endless. How do you keep your mind, body, and spirit protected during this time? Firstly, you must adjust your expectations and realize that not everything will go as planned. You cannot stop these unsavory incidents from emerging during the holidays.

The best thing you can do to keep your mind, body, and spirit healthy during the holidays is to embrace imperfection and look at it from another perspective. The things…