Keeping Your Sanity Through the Holidays

The holidays are an exciting time, full of sparkle and glitter, family gatherings along with presents wrapped in bows.  But for many of us, the holidays can also be fraught with anxiety, stress, loneliness, and even depression. 

Here are some coping mechanisms to keep the stress at bay! 

1. Prioritize Your Self Care:  This is the most important thing you can do for your mental and physical well-being.  Make time each day to move your body, carve out some quiet time, hone in on activities that you enjoy doing (reading, crafting, playing an instrument etc.) and give yourself extra space to just chill. 

2. Give Back: One of the best ways to feel connected to your community, causes that are close to your heart and avoid all of the shopping craziness, is to replace gift giving with donations to your favorite charities, or to the charities that your friends and family members care about.  Volunteering with organizations in your community is an incredible way to give back, make your days meaningful and connect with others. 

3. Set Boundaries: There can be a lot of tugging on your time during the holidays, so setting firm boundaries with friends, family and even work colleagues over the holidays is extra important. 

4. Recharge: Many of us blast through the holidays attending any and everything and find ourselves working over the holidays.  If you can't get time off, maybe use this time for catching up on projects that have plagued you throughout the year and do some deep-dive heads down work while things are quieter than normal.  And if you have the luxury of some time off.... take it.  Your body and mind need the downtime to recharge so you are prepped and ready for a great start to the new year.