Happy holidays! It feels weird to say that every year, because every year the same thing happens to me.  The holidays arrive and I am unprepared and somehow shocked that it is the holiday season again. I think a lot of people feel this way, too. The basic equivalent of being woken unexpectedly, while napping…whoa, where am I and how did I get here.  We act like the year doesn’t always fly by or that we expect that this year the holidays are not going to come. Yet, here we sit smack dab in the holiday season. This can obviously lead to all kinds of different stressors ranging from money to health concerns. This shouldn’t be the case, though. This is supposed to be a happy and celebratory time. So with that in mind, please allow me to share with you my holiday health (physical and mental) survival guide. And maybe, just maybe will won’t only survive, but thrive this holiday season.

1) Treats, not platters: as far as food goes, don’t deprive yourself. If you’re surrounded by treats that you want and you completely abstain, generally many people will eventually go nuts and eat more than they would have originally. Simply choose a treat that you want, have one and enjoy it, then be done.  Along with this, it’s important to abandon the “all or nothing” attitude that people take with food during the holidays. Meaning, if you eat poorly at one meal, or too much at Thanksgiving, you don’t need to throw in the towel and go nuts till Christmas. One meal is one meal, one treat is one treat. If you make a poor choice, regroup and do better on the next choice.  Holiday treats really only lead to issues when we treat from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day as an all you can eat buffet.

2) It’s positive, to be negative, aka the power of no: during the holidays you will be pulled in many directions and we all want to do as much as we can and we want to make everyone happy.  This will not always work well for you though. As you’re baking 5 dozen cookies for the bake sell, sending out 100 cards, and running errands all over the world, you may breakdown mentally and physically. So many people I meet in our offices, are not even excited for the holidays, because they just see work and fatigue on the horizon. Seriously, add the word “no” to your vocabulary.  We don’t always like to use this word, but plan to do what you can with each day and anything that exceeds that….”no”. Examples: can you host the holiday party tomorrow night, should we go over our gift budget to get the new, shiny toy, or should I have a fourth holiday cookie….no, no, and no. It actually feels empowering!

3) Start focusing on others.  One of the sad truths of our world is that many people don’t have enough.  Enough food, enough warm clothes, or enough money to meet basic needs. It’s easy when you live in the United States to fail to see the need all around you, but it is absolutely there.  If you are a person blessed to fall on the “has enough” side of the coin, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to share. The people that need the help will appreciate it, but it will also be good for you.  Giving improves your own mental health. If you want to have a happy holiday season, give whatever you can. Whether you can spare a little or a lot, it doesn’t matter. Give what you you’re able to, you won’t regret it. Speaking of regrets….

4) More money, more problems: this is simple, don’t let pressure force you to spend more than you should or want. I promise, if money is tight, your child can do without the $500 electronic device.  Set a budget, stay with the budget, and if stuff goes beyond the budget it doesn’t need to be bought. It’s no fun to hide from the credit card bills in January and February. The holidays are not about stuff.  Deep down you know this. Don’t let advertising fool you.

Remember that the holidays are not about the “things”, the “to do” lists, or stressing about getting everything done. Don’t let the advertisers make it about stuff. Take back the holiday season and make it about whatever is truly important to you: family, friends, joy or gratitude.  Happy holidays from all of us at Crossroads Chiropractic!