How to stay present over the holiday season

The joy we feel when we think of Christmas can sometimes be overshadowed by the stress of the holiday period. As one of the busiest times of the year, the lead up to Christmas can be filled with tasks and to-do lists to make sure everything is ready and prepared for the holiday season. Oftentimes, we can be so preoccupied making sure everything is perfect, that we forget to look after ourselves in the process, leading to heightened levels of stress. 

In small doses, stress can be helpful in motivating us to get things done. However, prolonged exposure to stress can become a barrier by affecting our ability to perform tasks effectively. 

Stress may manifest itself both mentally and physically. In its physical form, we may recognise stress as tension in the body, experience shallow breathing, and generally feel quite fatigued. Mentally, stress can show up in the form of unhelpful thoughts and worries, difficulty concentrating and feeling irritable or on edge. 

Recognising stressors

To help recognise and understand what your stressors are, consider the following questions:

1. What was was happening when you were feeling stressed? Describe the details of the situation, such as where you were, who you were with, or what you were doing.

2. On a scale of 1 (not stressful at all) to 10 (extremely stressful), how stressful was the situation?

3. What thoughts were you having about this situation? Did you recognise any unhelpful thoughts or worries?

4. Where did you feel the stress? Did you notice any tension in the body, such as the shoulders or jaw, or did you notice feeling irritable or finding it hard to concentrate?

Adopting this curious attitude towards your experience draws on the skill of mindfulness. When we recognise what contributes to our levels of stress in these situations, we are in a better position to support our mental health and wellbeing when stressful situations arise.

Staying present with mindfulness

“Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”

— Jon Kabat-Zinn

We can connect with the present moment through mindfulness practice, which can be either formal or informal. Research supports the countless benefits of mindfulness, including reduced levels of anxiety and depression (1), improved emotion regulation (2), and a sense of calm and relaxation (3). 

A formal mindfulness practice involves focussing your attention on one thing and bringing your attention back whenever it wanders. An example of this is focusing on your breathing for a set amount of time.

An informal mindfulness practice includes bringing your attention to whatever task you are doing, whether it be brushing your teeth, baking a cake or talking to a friend.

Both formal and informal practice are based on the same principle of paying attention to the present moment, exactly as it is. 

Bring mindfulness into your holiday season

Here are some simple tips to help bring mindfulness into your holiday season:

Breathing: When we’re stressed our breathing can become shallow. Try and bring your attention to your breathing throughout the day. Breathe deep into your belly, and exhale slowly. A useful strategy is to breathe in to the count of 4, hold for 2, and breathe out for 6.

Grounding: When you feel caught up in the stress of the moment, a grounding exercise can help you come back into the present moment. To do this, focus on 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. By engaging our senses in this way we can ground ourselves into the present moment.

Practicing: As with any skill, the more we practice mindfulness the more we can benefit from it. Start by giving yourself 5 to 10 minutes per day to practice mindfulness, whether it’s formal or informal. When practicing, remember that it is normal for the mind to wander. It is the process of bringing our attention back that builds this skill.

I wish you all happy and mindful holidays!

Anna Ferenc

• References

  1. Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical psychology review, 31(6), 1041-1056.

  2. Roemer, L., Williston, S.K., & Rollins, L.G. (2015). Mindfulness and emotion regulation. Current Opinion in Psychology, 3, 52-57.

  3. Lancaster, S., Klein, L., & Knightly, K. (2016). Mindfulness and relaxation: a comparison of brief, laboratory-based interventions. Mindfulness, 7(3), 614–621.

Navigating Uncertainty

There is no doubt many of us are feeling the impact of the current coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty of the situation. The mind naturally finds comfort in knowing and being prepared. What we’re facing now is an unknown situation that nothing could have prepared us for. While worrying may be a natural response to what is happening, there is only one thing that we have control over, namely ourselves. We cannot control everything that happens to us, however, we can control how we choose to respond. Now it is more important than ever to take care of yourself and focus on the things you can do to help you through this time and beyond.

Adapting through uncertainty

The mind finds comfort in stability. Nevertheless, it benefits most from unpredictable situations. The more predictable a situation is, the less thinking the brain has to do. This is why we can learn the most from uncertain and unpredictable situations, as they stimulate our brain to adapt and find solutions. A brain region known as our prefrontal cortex is particularly active during such situations, as this is where most of our complex thinking processes (such as decision-making) take place. Uncertainty makes us think more deeply about what is going on so that we can find ways to adapt.

What you need to know about worrying 

With the current situation it is easy and only natural to worry about what is happening. Worrying is an adaptive response that intends to protect us from things going wrong in the future. On the one hand, we can have real worries about problems that need immediate solutions. These worries can be constructive and help us find solutions. On the other hand, we can have hypothetical worries about imagined scenarios that may not necessarily be true. These worries can be excessive and can leave us feeling stressed and exhausted. Excessive and hypothetical worries can be a significant barrier to finding solutions and hold us back from living the life we desire.

To help identify whether your worrying is constructive or excessive and based on hypothetical situations, please see the following decision tree:

What you can do to navigate uncertainty 

There are some simple yet significant things we can do to help us get through this time. Here is a list of these things:

1. Be kind to yourself and others – There is no right or wrong way to cope in this situation, as everyone has their own way of dealing with things. This makes it more important than ever to be kind to ourselves and others.

2. Practice gratitude – Listing three things we’re grateful for each day promotes mental health and predisposes us to see the positive things in life. This can easily be done every morning when you wake up to set up your day to be filled with gratitude, or each night before you go sleep to reflect on all the things you’re grateful for. No matter how small, there is always something to be grateful for.

3. Start something new – Now is the perfect time to read a new book, work on a personal project, create something, or learn a new skill. The list is endless. If there is something you’ve always wanted to do and were “too busy” to do it, now is the time. You will feel a sense of achievement for having started something new.

4. Mindfulness – There are many benefits of practicing mindfulness. In these uncertain times mindfulness can help us develop a non-judgmental attitude towards the present moment and reduce feelings of stress, anxiety or depression.

5. Structure and routine – During these uncertain and unpredictable times sticking to a daily routine can help bring certainty and structure into our lives. This could be waking up or going to sleep at the same time each day, eating regular meals, or going for a walk if you can.

6. Stay connected – Even though many of us are not able to meet with our loved ones due to social isolation, we can support each other and stay connected. A simple chat, phone or video call can remind us that we are not alone and can always reach out to someone.

7. Seek help – It is okay not to be okay and there are many ways to seek help to navigate through these challenging times. If you are struggling with the current situation, seeking professional help can help you through this time.

These are a few of many ways we can navigate through these uncertain times. While it is only natural to worry about real problems we may be facing during the current pandemic, we can identify if these worries are excessive and prevent us from living the life we desire. The above suggestions may help to create some space and structure to focus on what’s important right now.

Hypnotherapy: a powerful facilitator of change

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to facilitate positive change in your life. How many times have you tried to change an unhelpful habit with no success? Why is it so difficult for us to create change? And what makes hypnotherapy so powerful in facilitating change? 

One of the principles of hypnotherapy is that what you focus on grows. If you keep on thinking about wanting to stop smoking, all the mind can think of is smoking. If you focus on the thing you’re afraid of and continue to avoid it, your fear will grow stronger. By focusing on the unhelpful habits, those habits will continue to be part of your life. Where your attention goes, your energy flows. The key is to shift your focus to what you want more of in your life. 

Hypnotherapy can help challenge these unhelpful habits by creating a shift on the subconscious level. The conscious mind is logical and analytic. This is where all cognitive processes (also known as thought processes) take place and any information that is processed is either discarded or passed on to the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind does not analyse or interpret information, it simply accepts information provided by the conscious mind. This is where all beliefs are held that influence the conscious mind. Hypnosis works by inducing a deep state of relaxation to bypass the conscious, analytical mind to challenge the unhelpful habits and beliefs on the subconscious level.

For example, if you have a fear of public speaking, there may be a belief stored in the subconscious part of your mind about the fear. This belief in turn influences the decisions you make on a conscious level, such as avoiding public speaking. Each time you avoid public speaking or focus on the fear associated with it, it reinforces the belief held in the subconscious part of your mind. Through hypnotherapy you can bypass the conscious, analytical mind to challenge the fear and transform it into a more helpful way of thinking.

Are you ready to create positive changes in your life?