Holidays can be great for spending time with loved ones, creating memories, and enjoying our favorite comfort foods. But for many of us, the holiday season also brings increased stress and emotional drain.
As healers and caregivers, we often fall into the trap of overextending ourselves. We may buy excessive gifts, make elaborate meals, and overcommit to family and friends in an effort to make the season perfect. Or exhaust ourselves trying to meet everyone’s needs, at the expense of our own well-being.
For example, I will often unconsciously slip from just enjoying the moment to becoming a health coach, and I don’t even realize I’m doing it. I’ll stay in conversations long after I’m interested, because I feel like it’s important for me to be a good listener.
This Thanksgiving, I want to offer some advice to help you stay balanced and avoid holiday burnout so you can enjoy the season.
Take Inventory of Your Triggers
First, reflect on your unique relationship to the holiday season. Identify your particular areas of struggle. Do perfectionist tendencies arise around hosting and entertaining? Do challenging family dynamics reemerge each year that put pressure on you to take on the role of the mediator? Do finances cause stress with lack of boundaries or control? Do you struggle with loneliness or grief during this season? What about your relationship to food during the holidays? Take inventory.
Create a Holiday Burnout Prevention Plan
Next, create a holiday burnout prevention plan. This could mean establishing boundaries or leaning on support systems. By asking for help with tasks like meal planning, gift giving, and hosting duties, you free yourself up to be more present to share in the holiday spirit with others. Your burnout prevention plan might also mean committing only to holiday activities that genuinely bring you joy.
Try Not to Be Swayed by Others
If Aunt Carol starts lecturing your dietary choices, politely change the subject. She probably means well but lacks self-awareness. You cannot control her opinions, only your reactions. If friends insist on lavish outings that strain your budget, don’t be swayed by guilt or FOMO. Your finances matter. Lovingly suggest more affordable hangouts like hiking or games instead. And stay away from politics and religion, if that leads to tension. Remember what truly matters: simple joys and togetherness. The holidays can bring heightened stress to those around you as well, so do your best not to take all things personally.
Give Thanks to Yourself
When you are preparing for the festivities and during the holidays themselves, practice self-care. Show your body gratitude and appreciation for all it does for you by listening to what it tells you. Signs like headaches and irritability mean you’re overdoing it. Make time for exercise, healthy food, meditation, and ample sleep. Be sure to schedule some down time so you have a chance to recharge between activities. If you are highly sensitive like me, you require regular stillness. Mostly, release guilt over scaling back–your presence is the greatest gift. You can’t care for others without caring for yourself first.
The Healing Power of Connection
Research confirms the health benefits of human connection. Social bonds boost immunity, reduce anxiety and speed healing. Togetherness meets our needs for safety, understanding, and belonging. So much so that the gathering could be your answer to avoiding burnout this holiday season. However, community can only help with proper attunement. Maybe the family should put all of the phones away for the evening. Stay present. Give warm hugs, share laughter and fond memories, and create new traditions. Share struggles and allow others to bring their whole selves too. Listen deeply without thinking ahead to your response. Face each person and give them your full attention. You’ll be amazed by what you notice. Express heartfelt gratitude, share sincere compliments, and let loved ones know specific ways they enrich your life. This nourishes the soul. Through the connections we nurture, we gain strength to continue uplifting our communities.
I hope these tips help make the coming holidays less stressful and more nourishing. Here’s to warmth, wonder, and well-being.
Now I’d love to hear from you! What are your biggest challenges during this season? Do you have any tactics that have helped you avoid burnout and harness the healing power of gathering?
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