Holistic Help for a Stress Free Christmas

Tips for reducing stress at Christmas

So time is creeping on and you are starting to feel the pressure of Christmas as it approaches... don't let stress spoil your Christmas. Try some of these tips to help you relax and enjoy the festive season a little more.

Making Plans

When you feel so busy you can't think straight... it is really important that your first step is to take the hundreds of thoughts out of your head and put them on to paper. First of all it stops you from worrying that you'll forget something or someone at Christmas and secondly you can then prioritise your list. Once you've written down what has to be done - ask yourself how important is the task? Grade it from 1 to 3...

• 1 - essential and urgent,
• 2 - has to be done but not so urgent,
• 3 - not urgent and not essential.

Now re-write your list and get rid of the No. 3's... well if you think they are not urgent/essential will anyone else? Then ask yourself whether the remaining tasks would still take place if you weren't here to do it? If so - who else would do it (and write their name next to the task). Now allow yourself to ask that person or people to help you by doing these tasks. Hopefully at this point you may find your own list has got smaller and you've realised you should focus on.

If you are still finding it difficult to prioritise the list in the first place - ask yourself what would be most important if you only had 24 hours left to live. Let that thought prioritise your mind and help you realise that often what we think is important, isn't really the case.

Feeling Anxious

Sometimes we are very caught up in expectations of others and situations (eg Christmas day and family feuds) that we have to face. If we let our thoughts allow anxiety to grow, then our body responds by feeling anxious and we behave/act in a way which is anxious rather than calm, happy and relaxed. It's called the 'vicious cycle' and to break this programme of unhelpful thinking, it is a good idea to distract yourself away from your thoughts as a temporary measure to stop the thoughts churning over. Doing something physical like excercise, cleaning, cooking, using our hands... is a good way to become involved in the 'doing' rather than the 'thinking'.

If your head still feels 'fuzzy' and you can't think straight to even write a list... then you can try a short visualisation technique in the shower at the start of your day. When you are up in the morning and taking a shower, for about 30 - 60 seconds, imagine (seeing or feeling) that there is a ball of white light above your head... like a spotlight. See or feel the light touching the crown of your head then imagine that the water becomes white light and enjoy the sensation of the water as white light helping to clear and cleanse your energy. If you do this on a daily basis you will quickly find yourself feeling less overwhelmed with life.

No Energy.

If you find that your energy levels are low (either too many parties or not finding time for relaxation) your energy levels can become depleted and your immune system can become weaker. You may even find that although you are tired physically, it is difficult to sleep. Here is a list of things to try to keep your energy levels at their optimum level

• drink water - sounds obvious and it is! Dehydration can really affect your energy levels and if we abuse our body with too much alcohol, late nights and caffeine then we need to replace our water levels. On average we should drink 8 glasses of water (not tea/coffee).
• have a bath with aromatherapy oils. For relaxation, use oils which are calming and soothing (like sandalwood and rose). Or for something to help you feel less heavy, then rose geranium and bergamot are great for bringing energy levels back into line. (Remember to check with a qualified aromatherapist if you have any health conditions before using the oils).
• practise grounding visualisation techniques - using a technique to ground your energy and absorb energy from the earth back into your body with visualisation as it is strengthening and nourishing. Try to imagine your breath moving out through your feet and into the ground - deep down. Then draw your in breath back up from the earth drawing its energy into your body to nourish and strengthen.

What to do Next...

Feel Good Therapies also runs meditation and relaxation classes/workshops which includes information about these techniques and the opportunity to practise, learn and ask questions. If you want to know more about the workshops please visit the 'workshops' section on the website.

To book online please use the Ready to book? button on the right of this screen.

CD for home practise - We also offer a beginner's CD for home practise. For more information, please click here.