570: Tips for Anxiety Free Holiday Gatherings
This week we're sharing our favourite tips for calming anxiety during the holiday season, this episode includes a guided relaxation for busy times.
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Points covered in this episode
Make time for a few minutes each day to do something calming that you enjoy.
The Holiday Season is a challenging time of year for social expectations. It’s easy to get distracted from your routine and feel quite overwhelmed.
suggestions for self-support:
- get up a bit earlier than everyone else to practice some Tapping or read something inspiring
- take a walk during the day
- have an early night take a warm bath or listen to a guided relaxation in bed
- keep hydrated
Creating a supportive environment:
- have some music playing that helps you feel happy or settled
- infuse scents in your home that you find relaxing, or uplifting
Protect your energy
Some of us get an energy boost from social gatherings, others find them draining. And some of us find that they affect our nervous energy and increase anxiety.
If you have a busy holiday season ahead, think about how you like to recharge. Do you need some alone time, or a walk? Give it some thought ahead of time and factor in allowing yourself some space when you need it.
Walking after big mealtime gatherings allows for space even if a few people tag along. Getting outside will help you digest and clear your head. It's easy to loose track of time over the holidays and loose out on fresh air and natural daylight, both of which are essential to feeling healthy and energised.
Free yourself from expectations
We can plan our meals and our time together to an extent, but holidays are much easier if we can let them unfold. We can't control the opinions, moods or priorities of others, we can only turn up as us and the rest will play out as it will.
Holidays aren’t about perfect - to worry about the perfect tree, gift etc. is to bury ourselves in stress and obsession of tiny details that are really not the point.
Remember to breathe
Practice being aware of your body and tension levels, if you notice yourself feeling overwhelmed by noise, or company, take a moment to drop your shoulders and breathe out slowly.
Then take a couple of minutes to take some slow deep breaths, or use the calm point, no-one will notice and you will feel more relaxed.
Guided Practice: Self-care Relaxation for Busy Times
Take your right hand and place it over the centre of your chest
Now bring your left hand to cover your right
Roll your shoulders back to open your chest
Check that your jaw is relaxed and your face is soft
Now send your attention to the centre of your chest, behind your hands
Notice your hands warmth on your chest
Let your breath steady and deepen
Now focusing on the centre of your chest, your heart center
Send some loving care to yourself as you breathe
Breathing in warmth and peace
And breathing out anxiety and stress
As you breathe in imagine your body relaxing and receiving your care
And as you breathe out imagine anxiety leaving your body and drifting far away like black smoke
Keep breathing in warmth, and kindness
And breathing out anxiety seeing it as black smoke drifting far away out of sight, out of your mind and out of your body
Keep breathing like this for a few minutes
Feeling your breath bring life, care and warmth into your body
And carry away anxiety and stress as you breath out
New on our Patreon, a Guided Tapping Session for calming anxiety and getting a good night’s sleep.
Tap along with us at https://www.patreon.com/anxietyslayer