Five Ways to Get Your Needs Met Over the Holidays
As the temperature drops and fallen leaves start to reveal bare tree limbs, we may notice ourselves carrying added stress as we shift into the holiday season. This might include financial stress with holiday shopping, time management, worries of weight gain, and dealing with difficult family members. Creating structured time for your kids, checking in with your friends, and making time for yourself can certainly be an overwhelming feat.
As important as it is to be socially active, making and setting appropriate boundaries for your own time and space is a wellness necessity. If you struggle with verbalizing your needs and setting boundaries, learning and practicing assertive communication skills can help restore a sense of balance in your life.
If you are unable to see loved ones around this time, or are in need of boosting your social wellness, volunteering in your community is a great way to stay connected with others. Volunteering has shown several health and cognitive benefits. Doing for others serves as a social opportunity and can enhance interpersonal connections, provides a sense of purpose, and allows you to engage in meaningful work.
Here are five ways to help you get your needs met over the holidays:
- Listen to your body: Are you having frequent headaches, digestive issues, body aches, or difficulty sleeping? These may be physiological signs that your body is experiencing excessive stress.
- Maintain boundaries: Remember to respect the time of others, as well as your own. It’s important to communicate your needs effectively and respectfully to others. There’s power in saying “no” when you want to avoid overcommitting.
- Find your voice: When we establish expectations, but keep them to ourselves, this often turns into disappointment and resentment. Communicating with your loved ones will clue them in to the things that are important to you and will increase the likelihood that expectations will be met. Staying flexible and open to feedback can also be helpful.
- Learn your de-stressors: Identify activities that act as your own personal stress relievers or stress preventers. This could be reading, planning your day out in the morning so you have enough time to accomplish your tasks, playing music, exercising, or journaling.
- Try mindfulness: Mindfulness focuses on a non-judgemental, non-reactive present awareness. This practice can ease stress and anxiety by cultivating awareness of the present moment. The wandering mind is very active and likes to plan for and think about moments in the future. With practice and patience, you can reap the benefits of slowing down and enjoying the now. Think of the tortoise and the hare analogy…after all, the tortoise did win!
Learning to establish healthy boundaries and communicating them to others is a great way to bring peace and harmony into your life and will help you get what you want this holiday season. At Wellness Connection, our experienced therapists will help you identify ways to improve your life balance by teaching you strategies to live more authentically.
If you are interested in learning more about our integrative, holistic mental health and wellness services, please give us a call at (703) 327-0335 or send us an e-mail.