Mental Wellness Practices For The Holidays

The holiday season is upon us, and hopefully, the satisfaction of a little break from our daily work lives to celebrate with loved ones. This emotionally charged time can fluctuate from joyous excitement and gratitude to nostalgia filled with anxiety, stress, or grief. Visiting family members may be something you treasure and look forward to however for some, it feels like avoiding going at all costs, and other unfortunate people have no one to share these days with or a place to call home. These social days can also come with pressures that can affect mental and physical health.

A 2024 report from Mental Health America found that “23% of adults in the U.S. (nearly 60 million people) experienced some form of mental illness in the past year,” a statistic that has remained concerningly high. It’s essential to prioritize your well-being during the upcoming holidays to enjoy it fully and meet any challenges it brings. Mindfulness practices are powerful tools to aid our mental health journey, help us regulate our nervous system, and improve our overall well-being. 

Nervous System Support for Stress Reduction

The nervous system determines the stress level you may experience throughout your life. When we are in fight-or-flight mode, the sympathetic nervous system activates. Our bodies go into overdrive, producing cortisol, which can cause anxiety, increase blood pressure, weaken the immune system, and negatively affect our cognitive abilities, mood, and sleep. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “rest and digest” state that promotes a calm relaxation that lowers cortisol stress levels, allowing the body to heal or recover. The holidays can add additional stress with family gatherings, financial strains, and end-of-year pressures as the 4th quarter comes to a close. A balanced nervous system brings profound benefits for both physical and mental health. Try incorporating these wellness practices that aid your nervous system, support emotional balance, help you communicate efficiently, set boundaries, and promote self-care routines. 

Mental Wellness Practices For The Holidays

Affirmations: This free and easy tool can drastically boost your self-esteem and confidence, leading to a better state of mind overall. Use short, empowering phrases to cultivate a positive mindset during busy or challenging times. Create a few go-to affirmations to add to your daily life, like “I am worthy and enough” or my personal favorite, “Show me how fun and easy it can all be!” Try saying them out loud and in the mirror before you start your day. 

Breathwork: Simple breathing exercises like deeply breathing into the diaphragm can help calm the mind and body before family gatherings or stressful events. Box breathing is a quick technique to shift your energy. It consists of inhaling for four counts, holding the breath for four counts, exhaling for four counts, and holding the breath for 4 counts before inhaling again. When we consciously breathe, we are mindful of our respiratory system as a vehicle to center our nervous system, reduce stress, and bring a state of relaxation.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping: This technique involves tapping on specific acupressure points to help release stored emotional energy. It is often used to manage emotions like anger and reduce stress. EFT is usually paired with affirmations that you speak out loud as you tap. Will this work for you? Don’t knock it until you try it.

Gratitude Journaling: Can you think of five to ten things you’re grateful for every day? Cultivating a gratitude practice promotes positive awareness and helps uplift our overall moods. Take a few minutes each day to write down daily gratitude statements. We can sometimes take what we have for granted. This practice helps us appreciate the little things that make a big difference. 

Herbal Allies and Self-Care Rituals: Herbs can be beneficial allies during the holidays, whether in tea, tincture, or essential oil like lavender for a calming bath. Adaptogens like reishi, astragalus, and maca help the body adapt to stress and restore balance, aiding the immune system and overall well-being. Consider an evening cup of chamomile, valerian, or passionflower tea to calm your nerves. 

Movement as a Release: Exercise is a cathartic practice that can help release tension, reduce stress hormones, and promote endorphin production. Incorporate accessible holiday workouts, such as short morning yoga, a walk in nature with family members, or dancing to your favorite tunes, to release stored emotions. If you need to move through frustration, try a high-intensity workout to sweat out some aggression. 

Conscious Communication and Setting Boundaries

It’s almost that time of the year to clash heads with your family about the current political tide or your personal life choices as you share a holiday meal. Reels are already collecting likes showing the latest family drama at a Thanksgiving dinner over the recent presidential elections in the U.S. How can you keep the peace at the next holiday gathering? When dealing with loved ones, communicating our needs to ourselves and respectfully speaking while getting our point across can be difficult. It’s dire to be mindful of your social bandwidth when you’re out for the holidays. This season, setting boundaries is essential to your well-being, especially in family dynamics or work environments where emotions can sometimes run high. Before accepting an invitation or going to an event, have clear expectations for yourself and communicate them to the hosts or guests attending events. Set time limits for gatherings, approach all conversations with mutual respect, reduce misunderstandings by practicing deep listening, and be open-minded to allow individuals to express themselves without taking it personally. Setting boundaries helps manage expectations and avoid overextending oneself emotionally or physically. 

Emotional Release and Organ Health

Sometimes, it is hard to communicate what you are feeling emotionally because the feelings are repressed, traumatized, or paralyzed within various places of the body. Holidays can be triggering as difficult emotions stored in our bodies, like anger, grief, and fear, can resurface when navigating family relationships or personal reflection. According to Chinese medicine, the organs are connected with different emotions. Anger is associated with the liver and can be easily provoked at a Christmas party when alcohol is involved. The liver is a big part of our digestive system, so when we overdrink, stored anger is released, creating a catalyst for a ruined supper. Calming practices like breathwork, meditations with essential oils and EFT tapping, or more physical support, including working out to release, and herbs to support a liver detox like dandelion or milk thistle are good places to start addressing your anger. Discover self-expression through art to channel your emotions or pick up a pen to let yourself explode on paper. You may find that your anger is masking sadness or other unheard feelings. Find constructive ways to start healing your anger without hurting those around you. 

Grief is a common theme around the holidays as many mourn for ones who have passed away or reminisce about better days. Grief is connected to the lungs, so exploring breathwork practices with essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, or rosemary to breathe deeper can support you this year. Herbal tinctures with mullein, hawthorn berry, or motherwort can be great allies. If you love a warm cup of cocoa, try out ceremonial-grade cacao. This superfood, which has over 300 compounds, is a heart tonic that aids in boosting your mood by releasing serotonin and endorphins to help with seasonal depression. I recommend you taste my favorite brands, Cacao Laboratory, use discount code AKASHIC10 for 10% off, or buy traditional Mayan Cacao from Four Visions with discount code JAI15 for 15% off. Enjoy ceremonial grade cacao with cinnamon, agave, and adaptogen herbs like reishi, or how your heart desires.

So, what should you focus on this holiday season? Prioritizing your mental and emotional health by caring for your nervous system is vital to self-love and self-preservation. That could mean skipping the family dinner and going to a Friendsgiving instead. Try to learn how to self-regulate your nervous system to stay centered during the emotional tides that may arise with the upcoming holidays. Making memories with those we love is a precious gift we sometimes take for granted. Remember to embrace gratitude, set boundaries to honor your mental capacity, and do your best to communicate mindfully, especially if you are drinking. Experiment with these wellness practices to make the most of the season and discover new tools to support you moving forward.