3 Ways to Keep You From Drowning in Holiday Stress

The holidays are coming, can you feel it? Now that Halloween is over and we’re only a couple of weeks away from Thanksgiving in the United States, the Winter holiday decorations abound. No matter which holidays you celebrate (or don’t celebrate) this season, stress levels tend to rise this time of year.

The energy of this season is “gathering,” like a squirrel gathering nuts to prepare for the winter. You might feel a bit racy or frenetic, like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it. Plus, as there is less light and more darkness, moods tend to get darker too.

I often struggle with seasonal dysphoria where it’s harder to get myself motivated to do…anything. Exercise and vitamin D help a bit, but if I’m going to numb myself with food, games on my phone, or TV, this is my best season for that. Maybe you feel that too.

Here are a few things that I have found that help me this time of year, hopefully they will help you too.

1. Move your body

This is the best thing you can do for yourself to lift your mood and manage seasonal stress. And you don’t need to go to the gym for it to count, although that is definitely an option.

Any amount of movement counts. Even if you can’t move for a full hour every day, you might be able to sneak in 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, and all of those minutes add up. Go up and down stairs a few extra times. Park at the far end of the parking lot. These are tried and true methods to sneak in more movement. Every bit helps.

Walking

When I feel low, walking outside helps significantly. Between the fresh air and sunlight, it’s a real boost. The biggest challenge for me is leaving the house when it’s cold outside. Willpower will only get you so far, but sometimes you just need to will yourself to do it.

I have never regretted going for a walk, even a short one. The other day I was early to work and I walked around my building 3 times. Each lap took about 4 minutes, so I did 12 minutes of walking on a day when I didn’t think I had time. I was surprised by what a large impact that had on my mood and mental clarity for the day.

Yoga

Yoga is another pleasurable way to move your body. The combination of stretching and strengthening with breathing is a powerful trio. Breathwork calms and centers your mind, and stretching feels good. When my body feels tight, I get pretty cranky. When I can move my body freely, it lifts my mood and I feel brighter.

This time of year, you can go with the season, doing a slower Yin oriented practice, or try to break through the sluggishness and do a more dynamic flow. I have played with both styles and each is beneficial in it’s own way. I recommend that you listen to your body and honor what you need.

If you are feeling quiet, you might want to focus on stretching. If you feel more on the depressed side of things, flowing with your breath might help more. Sweating and breathing often shift my mood quite effectively.

I have 15 minute live online classes coming in December in the Holiday Burnout Solution. More information on that below.

Weight lifting and Cardio

If the gym is your vibe, do that! I started weight lifting recently to add to my walking and yoga routine, and I love/hate it. I often struggle to get to the gym (despite it being 7 minutes from my home), but once I’m there, the movement feels good. Typically I only lift for about 30 minutes, with 10-15 minutes of cardio beforehand to warm up.

Movement is medicine.

Pay attention to what you eat

As I wrote in my book Intentional Eating: Finding Peace and Balance in Your Relationship with Food, there is no one “right” way to eat. There are certain guidelines that will help you feel better, but everyone is different and has different dietary requirements.

There’s no one-size-fits-all human, so there is no one-size-fits-all way to eat. Some people thrive on a vegan or vegetarian diet, some people do better with meat and veggies. As long as you eat food that makes you feel energized and strong, you are eating the right foods for you.

Food should fuel and support your body and mind. When you eat foods that disagree with your body, you’re less able to cope with stress. When you pay attention to how you feel before, during, and after eating, you will start to notice foods that your body likes, and foods that it doesn’t like.

Sugar

This time of year, sugary foods abound. From Halloween candy, to Thanksgiving pies, to other holiday treats, you can’t escape it. It’s easy to just say “fuck it,” eat it all, then start over on New Years. That is, of course, one option.

Another option is to have a plan on how to handle these types of foods. I’m not a fan of deprivation, unless you are an “all or nothing” person when it comes to sugar. Sugar addiction is real, and if keeping it out of your life works for you, please carry on.

I find that when I tell myself “no sugar for you,” then all I want is sugar. That rebellious teenager in me says “you’re not the boss of me” and off I go. I find having a plan on how to handle the sugar helps me manage more skillfully. I try to sit away from the desserts so that I only eat the portions that I serve myself. If I sit too close, I’ll pick at it little by little and end up eating all of it.

Thanksgiving

Giving myself permission to indulge a bit on this one day relieves me of the shame of overeating. It’s one day out of 365. There are probably less than 10 sugar laden holidays per year. If you eat for health most of the time, then indulging in delicious pumpkin or apple pie won’t ruin all your health oriented work.

Shame is what tells you “forget it, you’ve blown it, just eat it all. It doesn’t matter now.” Shame is not your friend. Shame keeps you small and isolated, living in regret. Compassion tells you “enjoy this day. This food tastes good and you deserve joy in your life.” Compassion is a much better friend. Show yourself compassion and love, no matter what shame says.

Protein, fat, and fiber

Protein, fat, and fiber are three types of foods that keep you feeling sated for longer. Simple carbohydrates taste good, but you’re going to feel hungry very shortly after. If you can have protein at every meal, you won’t feel quite as “snacky” all day long and you will eat what you need.

Read these posts on the difference between physical and emotional hunger:

Why Do You Eat?

What Happens When You Feed Emotional Hunger With Food

Breaking Down Appetite: Surrendering to What The Body Needs

Foods that fuel your body fuel your mind as well. They help you think clearly and keep your energy up. “Hangry” is that hungry + angry state where you feel cranky and irritable because you haven’t eaten, or because your energy has crashed.

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat each burn at a different rate, so if each meal has a good balance of each, you should have good energy and a positive mood throughout the day.

3. Sleep

This is the most important thing you can do to manage stress. When you are sleep deprived, it’s challenging to cope with stress. Fatigue causes irritability, and it can also cause you to eat more because the hormones that signal satiety get swapped for the hormones that signal hunger. But you’re not hungry, you’re tired.

Have a sleep routine

As you age, your body benefits from having a sleep routine. This will be 3-5 things that you do every night to prepare for bed. These could include reading, taking a warm shower or bath, dimming the lights, spraying lavender on your pillow, journaling all of your worries onto a page so you can let them go, etc.

A sleep routine should help you let go of the day and transition to sleep. Turning off all screens 30-60 minutes before bed really helps (I struggle with this one, but I’m working on it!). I always sleep better when I read before bed, than when I play games on my phone.

Whatever you include in your sleep routine, let it be the same every night. Weekends and weekdays should ideally be the same. Of course special events happen that will throw this off, but the more established your sleep routine, the less these events will rattle you.

Cool it down

Your body naturally drops when you go to sleep, and encouraging that drop with a warm shower or bath before bed helps.

Poses like Shoulderstand or Legs Up the Wall pose are cooling poses that calm the mind and are great before bed. If you have a wall handy, you can even do Legs Up the Wall pose in bed.

Hot flashes can be a truly effective sleep disrupter. Sitali Pranayama (Cooling breath) is a cooling breathing practice that can knock out a hot flash and get you back to sleep. I teach Sitali breath starting at 2:08 in the video below.

More Support!

I have a few events/items coming up to help you manage stress and eating through the holidays and beyond.

December:

Join me in December for the Holiday Burnout Solution: What to do when there’s no time for you. The antidote to stupid New Year’s resolutions that don’t help. When you feel stressed and overwhelmed, the first thing off your list is your own self care. It feels like there’s too much to do, you’ll just have to wait until things calm down.

But what if you could feel calm and energized through the holidays, and not have to wait? What would it feel like to give yourself the gift of three 15 minute yoga classes per week to nourish both your mind and body?

Click the button below for more information or to sign up!

January:

There are lots of diets that come out after the holidays to help you “lose weight and look amazing.” This is not one of those. What if you could learn to love yourself just as you are, regardless of what your outsides look like? What would it feel like to let go of shame related eating and feel in control over yourself without restricting or dieting?

Intentional Eating: Finding Peace and Balance in Your Relationship with Food is a six-week online coaching program to help you cultivate a better relationship with food and yourself. Limited to 5 people to give you individualized attention and support.

Click the button below for more information or to sign up! The book is included in the course.

Give the gift of yoga!