How To Stop Holiday Dread And Anxiety
Have you been starting to feel that ball in your gut about the upcoming holiday season? Maybe the thought of all the many, many things you need to get done gives you an anxiety rush?
It really can feel sometimes like the holidays heap on the stress instead of melt it away, right?
Well, there's a simple way to stop that in its tracks so you can actually relax and enjoy this season.
It's to SET YOUR INTENTIONS.
Ask yourself these questions to get really clear about what you want out of this season:
How do you want YOUR holiday season to feel?
How do you want your family's holidays to feel?
What is the season all about for you?
Being intentional and deciding what you want the season to feel like is the real trick to simplifying and ridding yourself of dread and anxiety. You need to get to the bottom of WHY you want to do all the many things that come with the holidays. Then, you can look at all the gifts, baking, cleaning, trimming, travelling, entertaining, etc, etc, etc, on your list - and be able to make much easier decisions about if they’re really needed and at what level.
Setting intentions and determining the real goal for your holidays simplifies everything instantly and allows you to be much more relaxed and present and joyful - while still creating a magical season.
So figure out your intentions right now, and make every decision you come to from that place.
Here are a few ideas to help you be more intentional during the season, and simplify your to-do list.
1. Decorate intentionally.
Put your efforts not into purchased decor but instead into setting up your home to accommodate your vision of what the holidays mean to you. That may mean pulling out board games and decks of cards, adding cozy blankets and pillows and sparkling lights to your living room, having holiday-scented candles ready, queuing up your favourite festive songs, or rearranging your furniture so that the TV isn't front and centre - or maybe so it IS front and centre to watch holiday movies together with friends and family!
2. Say no.
You don’t have to go to every holiday party you're invited to. And you don’t have to host your own big shin-dig if that doesn’t line up with your intentions. Or, if hanging out with friends and family is your main intention, put your efforts into doing that but not having to have the decorating perfect or the cleaning spotless. Say no to the things that won’t really make much difference in the way you want the season to feel.
Say yes.
Make sure to include the activities in your holidays that align with your intentions, and don’t feel guilty giving them your full time and attention! This might mean saying yes to store-bought goodies instead of homemade if you’d rather be hanging out with a loved one instead of slaving in the kitchen. It might mean saying yes to new activities even if it means breaking “traditions” - but think through those traditions to see if they really fit your life where it is right now anyway.
Enjoy the season my friends!
