Did you know heart attacks are most common during the holidays? Makes sense. There’s tons of things to be stressed about during this time of the year. Buying presents, expectations to spend time with family, holiday traffic and travel woes, all of that weighs on you during the 30+ days betweenThanksgiving and the New Year.
This increase in stress can lead to anxiety which can lead to depression which can affect all facets of your life. That’s a big no-no. You need to feel good in order to enjoy yourself during the holidays.
This year doesn’t have to be an anxiety-ridden-stress-inducing nightmare like previous years. If you feel your heart rate start to pick up or t short of breath all of a sudden during the holidays, I want you to remember to do the following:
Choose to say no.
You might be feeling stressed because you placed high expectations for yourself to show up this season. Here’s a tip: drop them all. You don’t have to do anything. Be honest with yourself and understand that your well being is the most important thing and can’t be sacrificed because you think someone else expects something of you. It’s okay to say no. It’s okay to not show up if it means you’re prioritizing your health.
Look for relief in places aside from alcohol, or food
The comforts of alcohol and food are always around, but they are magnified during the holidays. If you’re situation is like mine,you have access to boozy eggnog, mac n cheese and all the peach cobbler you can eat. There’s nothing wrong with indulging, but make sure you’re not binging. These high calorie, high sugar treats won’t really help with your anxiety, they can actually make it worse.
Your health matters.
It doesn’t matter if a family member or friend wants you do this or that– if it hurts your health, then skip it. Period. Love shows itself in compassion, care, and empathy – you deserve that grace, especially from yourself.
You must remember that your mental health matters and if people near you get upset when you explain your situation, then maybe they aren’t the people you should be around. No one needs to feel guilty for putting health first. I know it’s a touchy subject, but at the end of the day, people who love you want to see you happy.
Let these three reminders guide you in surviving the holiday season. Stick to them and I promise you’ll have a better time this go around.
Happy holidays!
To less anxiety and more chill,
Chika
P.S.
If you want to keep the momentum going when it comes to business success and personal development, here are a couple ways you can connect with me and my community:
- Join The BLT – our private FB group, a curated community exclusively for full-time entrepreneurs where we share bite-sized business & life tips so your level-up game is never compromised. . I’ll be going live on Tuesday, Dec 24 talking about how to deal with family during the holidays, so be sure to tune in!
- Tune into my world on Instagram. To sum my page up in 5 ways: social outings, yoga all day, travel, motivational quotes, funny shit. If you connect with any of those, then follow me on IG! @ChikaObihCPA
