Is the stress of the holidays on your mind?
The holidays can bring a mixed bunch of emotions, from heightened stress and worry to guilt, overwhelm, and frustration. There is often a lot of work to be done and for many, trips to visit friends and family.
As exciting and fun as the gatherings can be, especially after a few years of isolation, they can also bring up a lot of tension and stress. Especially with the world that is now so heated politically there have been a lot of rifts in families, making the reunions not always so pleasant. Never mind the huge amount of work that goes into planning them and prepping all the meals, or traveling through all the traffic. So how can you make family gatherings less stressful? Read on for some easy tips!
5 Tips to Lessen the Stress During Your Family Gatherings
1. Get ready the night before.
Whether you’re the one serving a meal or you’re going to visit family and friends, the day of is always chaotic. There’s always something you have to do at the last minute and rushing around definitely elevates stress levels. So start yourself off right by preparing as much as you can ahead of time. So the night before pick out your clothes for the next day, and set aside anything you might need for the following day that you can prepare ahead of time. Pack a bag with snacks for the road, and make sure your wallet and any important gear you need is all together. This will go a long way in warding off any additional last minute stressors.
2. Work with plants, especially nervines.
Nervines are specific plants that help reduce the feeling of stress. Some great examples are Chamomile and Lemon Balm. If you don’t have herbs on hand many grocery stores nowadays sell tea bags for stress relief that contain nervines. They’re not as strong or as high quality as working with herbs yourself, but they are great in a pinch. Some brands are better than others and Traditional Medicinals is a good quality brand to look out for as it’s easy to find so I love recommending them (no affiliation).
Brew up a batch of tea first thing in the morning to get your day started off with less tension as you move around. Better yet, bring some already brewed tea with you to sip on throughout the event as a mini escape. No one will know why you’re so calm amongst any chaos 😉
3. Take a few slow deep breaths.
Before family arrives, or before you walk in the door, take a few nice slow deep breaths in and out. Breathwork is a great way to release tension in the mind and body as it’s very deeply connected to telling your body you’re safe (even when you don’t feel safe) tricking your body into releasing stress. Only a minute or two is needed and you’ll set yourself up for a more relaxed and grounded event.
There are many forms of breathing practices that are specific to supporting the nervous system and it’s something I go into detail about in my course The Calming Toolkit.
4. Step away if you need to.
If things get tense during the function, or you feel emotions rising up that is too much, don’t think twice about taking a moment to step away. Head to the bathroom or step outside for a few minutes and take some more deep breaths in and out releasing any tension. Give yourself a few moments to recenter and release. You can then return when you’re ready (or truly escape if it’s that bad ;)). Don’t forget you can always say no or leave if it gets to be too much. If you’re the host, that of course might be a little awkward, but you can definitely end the gathering a bit short haha.
5. Laugh.
Ah yes, laughter. It’s such amazing medicine for the spirit. See if you can find a way, any way, to bring laughter into the event. Laughter helps release tension very rapidly and releases it for not just you but for the whole group as well as it’s contagious. Laughter is a nice reset for any tense situation.
Let me know what you’re favorite tip is and I hope you have a great holiday season!
