Supportive Things to do before your holidays end

Christmas, New Years, extended travelling and family holidays… the end of one year and the beginning of another can be a very stressful and busy time. Changing or difficult family dynamics, coupled with the pressure to have a long list of new year’s resolutions that you will absolutely stick to this year can just add on to the feeling of exhaustion when you’re supposed to be resting and rejuvenating. It can really take a toll on your stress levels and mental health.

Now, before I go any further I want to reiterate that everyone’s situation is different. Some of you may have had the opportunity to properly rest and relax, and might feel like you have some energy as you enter the new year. Others may be absolutely flattened by extensive socialisation, in which case you might feel exhausted stepping into this year.

But, I wanted to highlight some things that can help you ease into a better mental health space and get your year off to a rejuvenating start. Take and choose what might work for you.

1.     If possible, allocate a day where you do absolutely nothing. This might seem strange if you feel like you’ve been already doing nothing (or not much anyways), but give yourself a full day where you also mentally take yourself off the hook for not being or feeling anything other than what you are currently experiencing. If you’ve been feeling guilty about not having set out your resolutions, kindly remind your brain that rest is productive. If you’ve been over-extended socially, schedule a day where the only focus is you. And I mean, DO NOTHING. Allow yourself that sleep in, get take-out if you don’t feel like cooking, binge-watch your entire favourite series on Netflix, go lie on the beach all day just relishing the sun and surf. Allow your body and mind the space to just be for a day.

2.     Write a gratitude list, and then a wish list for the coming year. Allow yourself to step into a grateful and dreamy space where you envision what you want your year to look like, and really feel into it. Chuck on some pumped-up music and visualise yourself succeeding, or taking the steps towards your personal goals. Visualisation is a super powerful tool that does more than just give your imagination a work out. It’s also been shown to help problem-solve and come up with ingenious solutions and ways forward. Allow yourself the space to dream.

3.     Get organised. Whether this is cleaning out your closet or kitchen pantry, spring-cleaning the entire house or simply your bathroom cabinet, organised spaces help reduce stress, lower cortisol and can provide a sense of relaxation and achievement. Clean or well-organised spaces can also help you focus, so if you’ve got a busy year ahead of you, doing some organisation now can help keep you more focused as you move throughout the year. Reward yourself with a nice meal or walk out in nature once you’ve completed all your hard work.

4.     Clean out your inbox. Go through your text messages, emails and chats and delete the ones that are no longer necessary, or unsubscribe from services you no longer need. This can also help you relax and focus, as you’ll have less notifications distracting you or raising your cortisol every time your phone pings, and when you do go back to work you’ll feel less overwhelmed by what’s on your personal screens. Please note, do not clean out your WORK inbox if you’re not back at work yet. I see you, your workaholics. DO NOT OPEN THE WORK INBOX!

5.     Begin a self-compassion practice. Often when it hits this time of year it’s easy to reflect on all the goals we didn’t achieve, or the terrible things about ourselves that we think need to change. While on this healing journey of life we often do need to challenge ourselves and push ourselves to meet some edges, but make sure you keep an open and curious, adventurous mind instead of beating yourself up about how you need to change. Whipping yourself over unmet goals or personal perceived flaws doesn’t help, and is likely to make you feel worse. Self-compassion practices vary, but here are some of my favourites. High-fiving yourself in the mirror every morning with an affirmation “I got this”. Hugging yourself and whispering to yourself every morning and night that you love yourself and you’re doing the best you can. Maybe a Buddhist compassion meditation is more your style (check out YouTube for those).

6.     Get out into nature. Seriously, this is a cracker and often forgotten about one. I don’t care if you simply stare into a pot of flowers, or you find a big woodland to go and explore, but get some green or blue around you. Being around greenery or looking at large bodies of water have been shown to reduce stress significantly, and the effects continue on for a while after you’ve left. If it’s safe to do so, leave your phone at home and fully immerse yourself in all sensations of the nature that’s around you.

7.     Create a spa-day experience for yourself. Yes, gentleman included! Run yourself that bath, have a longer shower, light those candles, do the face mask and the nails or treat yourself to a real spa experience. Pamper the body and it’s likely the mind will follow. Get a friend over and swap foot massages if you’re not ticklish, and set yourself up a nice snacking plate or indulge in a drink of preference.

8.     Gently come down off the alcohol or sugar high. This time of year is notorious for over-indulging and both alcohol and sugar can have pretty crappy effects on mental health. Hang-xiety, anyone? Give your body a break and fill it with nourishing foods, and you might notice some symptoms of stress and feeling blegh just begin to slip away.

9.     Watch a few inspirational TED-Talks or documentaries that get the brain juices flowing. This can help fill you with joy, curiosity and can open your mind to new ways of thinking or experiences. There are plenty of excellent mental health themed ones now, but my favourite may always be Brene Brown’s original TED-Talk about vulnerability. If you haven’t seen it, go check it out.

These are just a smattering of ways you can begin the new year and set yourself up mentally for more peace and joy. And of course, if you feel like you need additional assistance I have counselling appointments available both in-person on the Sunshine Coast and Australia-wide through Zoom.