I mentioned on Sunday that I am participating in A Gluten-Free Holiday, hosted by Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free
The first week’s theme is Healthier Through the Holidays. I wrote a long post about this last year, which came down to the following tips:
- Change your mindset
- Enjoy whole foods
- Focus on veggies for snacks and appetizers
- Plan for healthy side dishes
- Arrive bearing gifts of food
- Know how to manage well-meaning food pushers
- Have a plan for breakfast
- Manage stress
- Practice self-care
- Get enough sleep
I know, easier said than done, right?
I wanted to focus a little bit on the Manage Stress and Practice Self-care. I have always known these two things are important, but at times in my life have gone into the mode of “I just need to get through the <insert days/weeks/months> and then I can focus on self-care” – which can work in the short-term, but can definitely be tweaked to make even the short-term better.
My issue was that I used to think that to manage stress you had to carve our nice hefty chunks of time to focus on yourself. And yes, that would be lovely, but is not always realistic.
At some point in the last year, I somehow figured out that even on my longest day (and believe me, I have had some very long ones, including the kind where I keep getting interrupted every time I try to go to the restroom) I can find 5-15 minutes. Not enough time for the luxurious soak in the tub I am craving but enough time to:
- Listen to one of your favorite songs – the Glee Chevy Commercial always makes me happy, which reminds me
- Watch a favorite youtube clip – this one of cats holding paws is particularly cute
- Tear magazines up to find pictures for art journaling (this is my current favorite)
- Meditate
- Breathe deeply
- Stretch
- Say hi to a friend on Gchat
You get the idea. It can be hard to step back for an hour, but five minutes can be doable. My friend Iris has a great list of tips too.
For more self-care inspiration, check out this past summer’s Self Care Retreat.
What do you do to manage stress and take care of yourself during the holidays?
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
