How to stay sane during this particularly sensitive silly season
Just as the shackles of COVID19 begin to loosen and we gingerly stumble back into normality like a polar bear awakening from hibernation, the Christmas frenzy is thrust upon us like a pack of wolves pulling us in every direction. We’ve gone from one extreme to the other in what seems like a heartbeat.
This sudden jolt can feel quite overwhelming, particularly after coming out of the suppression we’ve all been in this year. So here are a few tips to help you manage this particularly sensitive silly season:
It’s Ok to still say ‘No, thanks’
Just because you’ve been cooped up all year doesn’t mean you need to jump to saying Yes every time someone starts with “Do you want to…”. In fact, now’s the time to be particularly cautious with your responses. The reason being is that your emotional stimuli capacity needs to be warmed up first. You can’t expect to run a PB after not training for a month. If anything, you’re actually putting yourself at more risk of pulling a hamstring. You need to ease yourself back into the training rhythm first.
So don’t beat yourself up for saying no to your friends, cousin's Xmas party this year. It could be the difference between you needing another extended break or enjoying the festive season.
Don’t forget about rest
Even without the external temptations outlined in point one, we might still feel an obligation right now to push ourselves coming out of this period of isolation, and even though I think we should certainly be on high alert for great opportunities, remembering to still take regular breaks and time to recharge and rest will see you thrive through this time, rather than struggle.
This could be as simple as making time to go for an evening walk each day after work or ensuring you’re getting up to 8hrs of sleep each night.
Visualise and adjust your game plan
Visualisation exercises right now can go a long way to easing or even eliminating unnecessary upcoming stress. However, I’m not talking about imagining a place where everything is perfect but taking a moment to actually foresee over the next month what events, situations, and environments are most likely to make you feel quite stressed and overwhelmed.
Maybe it’s when you’re endlessly driving around the shopping mall carpark trying to find a car park or having to be social with your annoying Aunt Betty. Whatever the situation, visualise it and then write them down and begin to list alternatives or potential remedies. For example, instead of having to brave the shopping mall this year can you take an hour to do your shopping online? Is there a safe-word you can share with your brother in case the conversation with Aunty Betty begins to become unbearable?
Taking the time to put these little plans in place can go a long way to helping you stride through Xmas this year.
Remember to carry your ‘small moments survival kit’ with you
Even after implementing all of the above, chances are you’re still going to get swept up in some of the swirling crazy festive currents. When this happens, it’s always handy to reach into what I like to call your ‘small moments survival kit’. These are quick exercises you can do almost anywhere on the go to bring you a small amount of release or peace of mind. They include:
a) 3 Grateful present moment reminders. This is a wonderful exercise to try when what needs to be done seems overwhelming. Thinking and writing down just three things you’re grateful for in the here and now will simply pull the mind out of the overwhelming state and into a grateful state. Shifting your mental outlook so you can then approach what needs to be done with a better state of mind.
b) 2 Minutes of Curiosity in the Chaos. If you find yourself in a chaotic environment e.g. the food court at Westfield Xmas eve, where everything is quite intense, rather than letting the chaos overwhelm you. Embrace a curious outlook. Just take in everything that’s happening around you with this almost humorous curiosity. A fascination of the sounds and sights. By doing this, again, it removes you from the insular overwhelm to a state of almost wonder.
c) 1 Minute of Deep Breathing. We often underestimate the power that our own breath can have in dealing with stressful situations. There’s a reason we sigh when we experience moments of overwhelm, that our breath gets shallow when we are faced with stressful situations. Our breath is our basic physical survival system. So it makes sense to exercise it in moments of stress. An easy practice, which is commonly known as box breathing is to breathe in deeply for a count of eight, hold that breath for eight, release for another count of eight and finally, hold the out-breath for the last count of eight.
Repeating this a few times is a great exercise to release immediate stress or anxiousness in the body.
So there we have it, I hope these quick recommendations can help you navigate through this particularly sensitive silly season and come out the other end having enough energy to take on 2021, for who knows what next year will have in store for us.
Merry Christmas
Luke x