- Stay in a routine. Make sure you are eating three meals a day. Our supply of a balanced intake of food helps to keep our energy levels high so we can accomplish adding more to our schedule. Allow the abundance of holiday foods to come into your life. You will be less likely to overeat if you are not over-hungry or deprived.
- Allow yourself rest breaks. Taking naps and making sure to get the right amount of sleep during the night is critical when dealing with more stress. Stress-management is rest-management.
- Get some cardio, go for walks or excuse yourself to go to the gym. Exercise will give you more energy and feel good chemicals (endorphins) to keep your spirit lifted and elevated.
- Turn to your breath to help calm yourself down and help with self-control. When you feel yourself “triggered,” instantly do the breath of peace. Silently say to yourself as you inhale in 5 equal parts P-E-A-C-E exhale and silently spell out P-E-A-C-E. Repeat until you feel calm again.
- Spend time in meditation, stillness and alert awareness. Holidays bring up past memories and feelings. Try to not ruminate about past memories. Try to focus on making new memories. Watch and“hold captive” every thought. Is this thought from the past? Is this thought making me sad? Is this thought true? In meditation, you learn to observe your thoughts coming and going, your emotions rising and falling and try to focus on God’s peace and stability. Repeat a scripture that is a positive affirmation like, “I am loved with an intense love.”
- Pray and have a vision for a realistic holiday season. Pray for those who hurt you and work on forgiving them. Ask for what you need. And by all means be grateful and thankful to be alive, for having hope and faith, and to know that God is always working for our good.
- Be there for the young ones and others who may need more support and love during the holidays. Helping others and finding purpose feeds the soul and makes the spirit happy.
Tonyah Dee has studied the Bible and wisdom traditions of the world for the last 30 years and teaches about finding ways to increase inner strength, stability, and confidence through practicing spiritual disciplines and healthy habits daily. Tonyah is a nutritionist, registered dietitian (R.D.), and earned her B.S. from Loma Linda University. She also holds certifications in Christ-centered life coaching, equine therapy, and meditation. Tonyah has been published in Scary Mommy, MSN, The Mighty, Mantra Wellness, CoveyClub, Thrive Global. Follow Tonyah on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Medium.