The holidays are supposed to be a time of peace and joy, but in reality, this season often leaves us grappling with a long list of negative emotions.
There are several potential reasons why you’re feeling blue this year. For example, you could be stressed out because of the holiday rush. You could be fatigued from a long year and ready for the new one to begin. You could also be suffering from loneliness and depression, especially if you’re having to spend the holidays away from your friends or family.
The saddest part of all this is that while we’re wrestling with our complicated feelings, we’re missing out on all the happy times that come with the holidays. That’s why the best way to find true joy and peace throughout the month of December is to learn to stay present and not get caught up in our own internal monologue. Here are 5 ways to stay present during the holidays.
1 | Begin A Meditative Practice Of Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is a simple way to ground yourself and help you dissipate some of that anxiety fluttering in your stomach.
The reason why it helps you relieve stress is that when you breathe deeply through your abdomen, you increase the amount of oxygen in your blood from what would normally be there if you were only breathing through your chest. Your brain recognizes the increase in oxygen and starts working to decrease the amount of stress hormones in your blood.
This exercise is also great for meditating and calming your mind. When you slow down and concentrate on your breath, you can silence those negative thoughts and emotions that are causing you to panic.
Here is a step-by-step tutorial for starting a meditative practice of deep breathing.
Step 1: If possible, find a safe, quiet place to be alone for a few minutes. You can sit, stand, or lie down, whichever position is most comfortable for you.
Step 2: Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
Step 3: Slowly breathe in and out a couple of times to center yourself.
Step 4: Inhale slowly and let your belly expand. Then exhale slowly and let your belly fall back. You should notice that the hand on your belly moves up and down, while the hand on your chest should barely move at all.
Step 5: Continue deep breathing for at least a couple of minutes.
2 | Slow Down
Learn to slow down and savor the holiday season. Don’t clutter it up with a full, bustling schedule, or else you’ll feel too stretched thin and stressed out to enjoy any of it.
To help you slow down, get used to saying “no” when you’re invited to a party or asked to volunteer for something like a church event. You can even write a script to help you politely but firmly decline invitations.
3 | Reduce Or Eliminate Distractions And Try Active Listening
Navigating the holiday season is like balancing on a high wire while juggling multiple activities, events, and to-do lists. However, multitasking at any time of year can actually be detrimental to your mental health.
According to scientific experts at Harvard Health, multitasking can actually reduce your ability to retain information in your working memory. This means you’re more apt to forget things quickly and may miss important information.
Depending on what you’re forgetting or not hearing, your holiday plans could be turned askew or even ruined. You could also hurt someone else’s feelings by (unintentionally) not listening to what they’re saying or forgetting something important that they told you.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to improve your working memory so you can stay present while you interact with other people.
First, reduce or eliminate distractions as much as possible. If there’s a particular task that you haven’t done that’s bugging you, either go ahead and do it or let it go. Eschew multitasking as much as possible and attack your to-do list one thing at a time.
Second, practice active listening. Active listening is when you stay fully present in your conversation with another human being. You’re not just hearing their words, you’re also paying attention to their verbal cues, maintaining eye contact, answering their questions, and reflecting on what they’re saying back to them. In other words, you’re being a full and active participant in your conversation.
Active listening will not only help you pay attention to and retain information from your conversations. It will also help you develop a closer connection with the person you’re speaking with and enrich your relationship. Most importantly, it will help you stay focused on the here and now, which includes the person in front of you.
4 | Reset Your Routine
With end-of-the-year festivities, it might feel like it's impossible to keep your usual routines and rituals, but you can simply modify your routine, rather than make an excuse to not do it at all.
For example, if you have a tea ritual that you perform as part of your mindfulness routine, consider shortening it by a few minutes, moving it to a different time of day, or changing the order you do it (i.e., take out or shorten individual steps). You can also sample a new tea or try a new tea accessory to make your ritual seem fresher and faster.
Maintaining your routine for staying present and mindful is important. Don’t throw it out the window just because you can’t do it all during the holidays as you would normally.
5 | Have Some Fun
Take time to do fun things, either by yourself or with friends or family. Keep the fun inside so that no matter what the weather is like, you can still enjoy the activity. By letting off some steam and having some laughs, you’ll feel more present in holiday joy than ever.
In addition to following the above 5 strategies for staying present during the holidays, don’t forget to keep up your tea rituals. To help reset or refresh your old routine, visit our online store and check out the teas and tea accessories there.