Holiday Stress Management

While the holiday season can bring a lot of joy in celebrations and connections, it is also not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by the number of items on your to do list and the mental and physical strain of travel, planning, and spending over the holiday.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you approach the holiday season:

• Be realistic. This first tip applies to many of the stressors that come with the holiday season. It is important to set realistic goals for yourself in terms of time and financial commitments over the holiday season. This may mean saying “no” to some events or setting a strict budget for gifting. It is also important to practice accepting imperfection when something does not work out exactly as planned. Use helpful self-talk messages such as “good is good enough” or “I am doing enough” to support these more realistic expectations.
• Engage in self-soothing and self-care. Take breaks to soothe yourself and take care of your physical and mental health while dealing with extra stress. Calm your breathing with slow, deep breaths. Make some time to enjoy positive sensory experiences such as a warm shower, a soft blanket, or listening to your favorite music. Stay engaged in hobbies and activities that you enjoy. All these things can make you a little more resilient when stressful things come up and can give you a clearer head to approach the problem.
• Get some fresh air and sunlight. For many people the winter can be a difficult time as there is less sunlight and it is more difficult to get outside. This natural tendency for many people to feel a bit more depressed can make holiday stressors a little more difficult to deal with. Connecting with nature and getting sunlight can improve your mood and put you in a better place for solving problems and managing stressors.

If you know that the holidays are a stressful time for you, be intentional and plan now for some healthy habits and support. If you are struggling to manage holiday stress, support is available. Mental health professionals can help you develop coping strategies to manage the stress, anxiety, and depression that can come during the holiday season.

The Holidays & Recovery

The holiday season is around the corner and for individuals in recovery from addiction, it can be a very difficult time of year. Whether it is the added stress of planning and travel, pressure to drink at social events, or loneliness and grief related to loss or disconnection, there are many things that make it more challenging to stay sober.

Here are a few strategies to support yourself or a loved one who is in recovery this holiday season:

1. Make a plan. Before any holiday event or activity, create a plan for yourself to handle any triggers. This could include attending the event with a supportive sober person, attending a twelve step or other support group before or after, driving yourself to the event so you can leave when needed, or any other support. Don’t be afraid to leave early if you need it.
2. Try giving back. If you are struggling with loneliness or disconnection over the holidays, there are many ways to volunteer that can help you connect. There are also lots of other benefits to charity and volunteer work. Whether it is serving a meal at a local shelter or assisting with a toy drive, it can help fill your time and boost your mood.
3. Know your triggers and limits. One of the biggest parts of relapse prevention is knowing the people, places, or situations that are likely to be a trigger for use. Planning for those triggers can help you feel more empowered, and it is also important to know your limits. If there are certain triggers that make it very difficult to maintain sobriety, it may be best to avoid them – even if that means missing a holiday event.
4. Take care of yourself. Self-care is important to supporting your overall wellbeing, but it also helps us be more resilient and more able to manage strong emotions. By ensuring that you are sleeping enough, eating well, and engaging in some physical activity, you can set yourself up for success. Self-care also means taking time to do things you enjoy and connecting with those that are supportive of your sobriety.

The holidays can bring a lot of complicated feelings and stress for many and for those in recovery, it can be that much more difficult. If you or someone you know are struggling with addiction or would like support maintaining sobriety, help is available. Mental health professionals can help provide support and tools for recovery.

Change Can Be a Good Thing

For many of us, change can create a lot of anxiety as we look towards something uncertain, yet it is also ingrained in every stage of life. Whether we are starting a new school or job, entering a new relationship, moving to a new town, or just trying a new hobby, change happens all of the time. In many ways, change can be a very good thing as it provides us with new opportunities to learn and grow. Living a life stuck in your comfort zone is not as fulfilling as taking chances and creating change. Here are a few ways that change can be a good thing.

1. It builds confidence. It may be cliché but there is something to the quote “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. When we step outside our comfort zone, we create opportunities for ourselves to experience success at something new. This can be very powerful in building up confidence when things go better than expected or we succeed in the new situation. Create opportunities for yourself to try something new that is just outside your comfort zone to build up your confidence.
2. It builds resilience. Resilience is our ability to recover from challenging situations. While success in change builds confidence, our struggles in change can build resilience. We can’t learn how to handle setbacks if we never have them. Change provides an opportunity for us to learn new coping skills, build our relationships, and discover our strengths when we have setbacks.
3. We become more flexible and creative. New experiences build our creativity too. When we are put in new situations or face new challenges, we may have to change our way of thinking or problem solve in new ways. As our creativity and resilience grow, we also become more flexible. Future change becomes a little easier to navigate as we have a lot more experience to build off.

Change can be hard to navigate – especially when the change is unwanted such as a job loss, the end of a relationship, or a death of a loved one. If you or someone you know is struggling with life changes, help is available. A mental health professional can support you in navigating change and building resilience and self-confidence to handle life changes.

The Importance of Vacations –
No Matter How Big or Small

Taking a vacation means more than travelling to sunny beaches, ranging mountains, or bustling cities. Whether it is a weekend getaway or just a few days at home, there are many benefits to taking some vacation time to relax, reset, and recharge.

Physical Health Benefits. Research has shown that stress contributes to several physical health complications including an increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Taking the time away from work, school, or other demands can help manage stress levels to decrease this risk.

Productivity and Motivation. Research has also shown that there are also benefits for motivation and productivity.  Chronic stress can negatively affect focus, memory, and motivation. Taking time for a vacation can set you up to be more focused and productive at work and at home.  It also makes you much less likely to experience burnout.

Improved Family Relationships. Vacations have not only individual benefits but can also benefit your relationships with those around you as well. Vacations offer an opportunity for quality time with loved ones as well as a chance to reconnect. The opportunity to form memories together can also build a deeper connection.

A vacation does not have to be costly in time or money in order to have these benefits. It just needs to be a break from the routines and stressors of day-to-day living.

How To Be Self-affirming

Affirmations are factual positive statements about ourselves. For many of us, the voice of our inner critic can drown out efforts to remind ourselves of our inherent value and strengths. Outside of our head, we may also hear or see messages from those around us that negatively affect our sense of self-worth. Many have heard of the idea of practicing affirmations, but it can be challenging to create ones that are helpful and effective.

Here are a few tips and ideas for building a practice of self-affirmation:

1. Identify the negatives. First, consider what negative thoughts are getting in the way of you feeling good about yourself and your strengths. Consider what messages you may have taken from others that tear you down. If this feels overwhelming, start small and pick 3-5 of the most problematic thoughts.
2. Identify the opposite. Once you have your list of negative thoughts, identify what the positive opposite might look like. You might even start with a more neutral option if the positive feels out of reach or you are struggling to find a positive.
3. Prepare for discomfort. Practicing affirmation will be uncomfortable at first and may cause some increased anxiety. Growth happens outside our comfort zone. Make sure you give yourself credit for facing the discomfort!
4. Create a routine. Make affirmations part of your daily routines. It can be as small as saying your affirmations to yourself as you get ready for the day, or you can combine it with other self-care practices such as meditation or journaling. The important thing is to practice.
5. Get creative. There are lots of ways to make practicing affirmations a more engaging experience. You can create affirmation posters, write them on your mirror, or purchase shirts, keychains, or other items with your chosen affirmations. These items can also be helpful when trying to create your affirmations. For some, visual reminders can be very helpful.

Affirmation statements are a great way to start your self-affirmation practice.

Promoting Resilience

Whether they are traumatic experiences or day to day stressors, we all face setbacks throughout our lives that can derail our mental health and wellbeing. Resilience can be defined as the human tendency to adapt in the face of these events and use them as opportunities for growth or to find our inner strength. While it does not mean that when these challenges occur, you won’t experience distress, resilience has positive effects for long-term wellbeing.  It is also a quality that can be grown through changes in our thinking and behavior.

Here are a few strategies for helping to build up your own resilience to life challenges:

1. Change the narrative. When things come up that are challenging, frustrating, or defeating change the way you think about the event. We may tend to focus on those negative events or the moments where we felt the least in control or capable. Instead, shift your mindset to highlight your strengths and positive qualities in the situation. Give them at least as much attention as the mistakes or challenges if not more. An optimistic mindset that things will get better has a powerful effect on our ability to overcome distressing emotions and situations.
2. Build connections to others. We are wired to seek out social connections and to rely on others during the most challenging times in our lives. By investing in building quality relationships, it can be easier to carry the emotional load when challenges do arise. When we are struggling with stressors, we may tend to withdraw or isolate ourselves from our support when what we truly need is the opposite. Finding a sense of community, whether that is in a faith-based group, or a local recreational sports league can also foster an important sense of connection with others.
3. Take care of yourself physically. Physical and emotional health are so interconnected. It is easy to neglect our health when we are struggling but taking the time to eat a good meal, go for a walk, or get a good night’s sleep can do a lot of good in increasing your ability to handle stress more effectively. It’s also important to resist the urge to give into unhealthy coping strategies like reaching for unhealthy foods or alcohol.
4. Create a sense of purpose. When we feel that our lives and actions are meaningful, it can help us recover from stress and trauma. Create a sense of purpose in your life by exploring the things that are most important to you. If you value family, ensure that you are taking time to connect with them. If you value generosity, take time to give back to others through volunteer work. A life lived according to your values will be much more fulfilling. It can also provide additional sources of emotional support when you are struggling.

All of these steps take time but can help you cope more successfully with stressors. If you or someone you know could benefit from having some help building resilience, reach out to mental health professional who can support you in these steps. More information about resilience can also be found at https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience/building-your-resilience.

Time Management

Time management can be a challenge for many of us. As adults, we may find ourselves struggling to achieve balance as we manage more demands on our time such as work, caregiving, household management, and higher education. When you are feeling overwhelmed by the number of things you need to get done, it can lead to a state of decision paralysis which can get in the way of getting anything done. If you are feeling stuck, here are a few strategies to help manage your time a little more effectively.

1. Make a priority list. Instead of creating a “to-do” list of everything you need to accomplish, create a smaller priority list that is focused on what is most important to get done in the time you have. This can feel more achievable and increase your focus!
2. Break things down. Take tasks that feel overwhelming or involve multiple steps and make them smaller. Progress rather than completion is the goal. For example, if you need to clean your kitchen, you may break it down into gather the dishes, empty the trash, wash the dishes, wipe the counters, etc. This can help boost your sense of success as you complete each smaller task.
3. Minimize distractions. Whether it is work emails while you are at home or social media at work, find ways to limit the temptation of distractions from the task at hand. There are a wide variety of apps and programs that can help keep you focused and off your phone.
4. Avoid multitasking. While this may seem contradictory, there is plenty of research that suggests that we are not as good at multitasking as well think and it often gets in the way of productivity. Whatever task you are working on, stay focused on that single task.
5. Make a plan. Good time management skills are not built with one tool but through time spent finding what works for you. Time invested up front, planning how to tackle challenging tasks, becomes an investment in your future success.

Mental Health Spring Cleaning

April starts the Spring season and the end of the winter season. As a result of the weather, winter can typically be a time with less activity. Once nice weather comes, many feel motivated to increase activity and goal completion. One example of this is spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is the time to organize and freshen homes and personal areas. This can be done through literal cleaning and dusting but also organizing possessions and getting rid of unwanted items.

We can also do this with our mental health. Everyone has clutter of negative thoughts and sometimes negative coping that happens as a result. This can make it difficult to maintain our daily routines and positive goals for ourselves. We all have many thoughts that run through our mind daily. Some of these thoughts are productive and positive and others are distressing and deemed more negative. We can’t control triggers in our lives that create these thoughts and responses. However, we can control our response to those responses. In other words, mental health spring cleaning involves managing our thoughts and emotions in a positive manner. There are many great techniques to help with mental health spring cleaning. Mindfulness is a great way to create discipline in our mental health. Mindfulness involves identifying emotions and staying present in the moment.

The following are several other techniques to consider with mental health spring cleaning:

• Acknowledge and identify emotions
• Create a vision board for goals and emotions related to desired changes
• Journal about emotions and explore related feelings and triggers
• Review daily routines and schedules to make more time for self-care and relaxation
• Incorporate increased self-care such as exercise, sitting outside with nature, art, or even music

Keep in mind that it’s good to do these mental health cleanings regularly not just during the spring time. Always remember to reach out to a mental health professional if you are finding yourself struggling with these concepts.

Balance In Life

During this time of the year, it is also important to discuss how to maintain a balanced life. Winter can be hard for many as outdoor activities can decrease and more time is spent indoors. Understanding positive balance in life can help with this challenge.

Psychology Today states, “Balance is not something we can get; it’s a state of mind. It’s the realization that life is not stable but in constant motion.” We search for stability and structure when we are striving for balance. We want something, someone, or somewhere to make us feel better and content. This is natural but the reality is that change is a part of life and it is hard to deal with at times. We have to find ways to deal with this change in a healthy way that keeps us balanced. Albert Einstein said “Life is like riding a bicycle to keep your balance you must keep moving.”

Psychology Today mentions the importance of letting go. Most of us may believe that we can control the things that happen in our lives. However, the truth is that we can only control our responses to these things. We have to let go of what we can’t control which can be a very hard concept and action. Increasing self-awareness can lead to greater insight emotionally which can lead to increased flexibility and emotional control. These are concepts that are very important in creating balance.

The following are more ways we can be more balanced in life:

• Identify emotions and triggers (what we can control versus what we can’t)-a simple and easy way to do this is through journaling
• Healthy boundaries and communication (expressing your needs for yourself and to others in an effective and positive manner and learning to say no to things
• Brainstorm ideas and passions that can turn into realities whether that be a hobby, a job, or even a volunteer opportunity

Remember, if you find yourself still struggling persistently with finding balance and managing related emotions, a mental health professional can help. Reach out to a local practice or agency to talk to someone about what you’re going through.

Psychological Flow

Psychological flow is a positive state of being fully present in the here and now through an intentional activity. It can be understood that this state is the ultimate point of focus that brings about creative and positive insight. Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi are quoted with referring to psychological flow as “the holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement.” The important part of psychological flow is that one is engaged in an activity that is meaningful, purposeful, and intentional. For example, if a person is painting a picture and finds themselves fully engaged and focused on painting this picture, they are experiencing psychological flow.

The following are examples of obtaining psychological flow:

• Hard Charger – adventurous sports, non-traditional activities that are high adrenaline and high intensity
• Flow Goer – meditation, yoga, and more mind-body connection activities
• Deep Thinker – activities that involve deep reflection and insight such as gardening, hiking, playing a musical instrument

When incorporating psychological flow, it is important to reflect on your thoughts and feelings as well as your breath to help to balance. Focusing on breath helps to relax the body and mind and be more fully present in the moment. It can also be helpful to utilize brainstorming and reflection time to gain increased insight on goals and ideas. It can be helpful to utilize visualization or a vision board to begin your journey towards psychological flow and help spark a creative route.