Seven Ways to Beat The Holiday Blues

Thanksgiving has quickly come upon us and passed. Christmas is coming very quickly. Like the Christmas song says “ Tis The Season to be Jolly.” Right? Not always and not for all of us. Shopping, parties, and all the festivities would make it seem like we would experience a lot of joy during this time of year but the dream of a perfect holiday couldn’t be farther from the truth. For many it’s hard to beat the holiday blues. Here’s some tips to help you out.

It is quite common for a lot of us to feel anything but joy. Some of us may have recently experienced a breakup, suffered the death of a family member, are concerned about going into debt/finances, or are just stressed out and exhausted about the frenzy of the season. Along with being a welcome break from the norm, the holidays can be a strain on our comfort, happiness, and health.

Hopefully these 7 tips will help you Beat The Holiday Blues

There is so much for us to enjoy this holiday season, but it can also be a reminder of the things that are going wrong in our friends lives. We need to remember not everyone is jolly during the holidays because for some the emotional and physical pain is too much.

So this year let’s enter this holiday season with the attitude that we are going to care for ourselves more and plan on being more caring and compassionate to others as well.

Tip 1. Beat The Holiday Blues with Sleep

Spending a lot of money and eating a lot is a big part of the holidays, but the best parts of the holiday season come in things that we cannot buy or eat. The first thing that we need to do is to get enough sleep.

Being depressed and stressed out is very exhausting. Not getting quality sleep can make us feel very drained during this holiday season. Attending a lot of parties, drinking a lot of caffeinated beverages and alcohol, not eating right, and a lot of shopping is a way to become very fatigued. We need to practice getting enough sleep by sleeping at least seven hours a night. Daytime naps and drinking alcohol and caffeine right before bed are things that we should not do. Right along with sleep, we need to work out regularly.

2. Beyond the couch and office chair – exercise!

Exercise helps our bodies get rid of stress and increase our levels of “happy hormones.” When we sweat, we are getting rid of toxins. These toxins make us irritable, sluggish, and tired. Even if we only exercise thirty minutes a day, our moods will improve greatly.

For those of us that cannot find time for a walk or exercise class, we can still make choices that get us moving. We can take the stairs, walk to the store, park far away from the store, and stand instead of sit at our desks.

3. Beat The Holiday Blues by not overeating

Eating our feelings is a common way of coping with grief but the end result more often than not leaves us feeling worse. This holiday season limit the sweets and caffeinated beverages but ensure you aren’t depriving yourself.

Some additional ways of improving your food choices include adding leafy green vegetables, taking multi vitamin or juicing.

4. Avoid overextending/financing your holidays

Sometimes setting a budget and sticking to it is a must, especially during the holidays when everywhere you look there is a sale or special product being pushed on you.

The pressure to spend excessively during the holiday season does not have to break the bank or our moods.

5. Connect with friends/family

People often isolate themselves because they think their family or friends don’t want them there when in reality they would feel blessed if you walked through their door. In this world full of technology it is easy to reach out to them no matter how far away they are.

We also want to keep toxic family and old toxic friends at bay. If someone in your life makes you feel miserable you are no obligated to spend time with them. It is okay to say no!

6. Grief during the holidays is a real thing!

For those of us that are grieving during the holiday season, we need to not hide in grief, but not be around people all the time either. A telephone call, movie date, or video chat can go a long way to improve our moods and get rid of tension. If we cannot spend time with family and friends, then volunteering at a charity is another way to help with grief as it gives us an opportunity to be around people in a positive environment.

Final Tip to Beat The Holiday Blues

Finally, we need to take time for ourselves and not expect too much from others and ourselves this holiday season. Making plans and priorities and not expecting ourselves or others to be perfect along with the above ideas will help us handle the holiday blues in the best way possible.