The holidays are stressful — there’s no question about that. Whether you love the winter season or dread it with every cell in your body, getting through the festivities can be mentally, emotionally, and financially taxing.
So, if you’re feeling even a bit burned out at the beginning of the New Year, it’s essential that you know you’re not alone. A recent survey found that 36% of Americans experience holiday burnout even before Christmas comes around.
Fortunately, there are effective ways to recharge and de-stress after the holidays. If you apply these strategies continually, they can significantly improve your overall well-being. But even more, you can use them as preventative measures for any similar event, whether that’s an upcoming travel arrangement, a special occasion, or a stressful period at work.
Without further ado, here are the four best ways to recharge and de-stress in 2024 and beyond.
Guest post by Sarah Kaminski. Feature photo by Jake Melara.
Fill Up Your Cup
Preparing for the holidays is tough. And if you’ve had to host a dinner, had family over, or are a parent, chances are you’ve had a lot of work on your plate. And truth be told, most of that work is exhausting.
One of the best ways to recover from all those cooking, cleaning, socializing, or travelling hours is to practice some proper self-care. In other words, if you want to relax and recuperate from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, find ways to fill your cup with activities and habits you enjoy.
If you already have some preferred hobbies, then all you need to do is carve out some time for those activities and allow yourself to enjoy them. However, if you’re one of the many people who don’t have a good track record of doing things for their well-being, start looking for inspiration on how to kick back.
Some of the best ideas for de-stressing activities include:
- exercise (yoga, in particular, has science-backed benefits in helping combat the effects of stress)
- creative pursuits
- spending time in nature
- socialization
If none of these sound appealing enough, feel free to experiment with any other format of self-care that you find attractive. For example, that could be reading, doing a social media cleanse over the weekend, picking up new habits, or enrolling in a class to widen your horizons.
Don’t Overdo It with Your New Year’s Resolutions
Many people feel that the moment January rolls around, they need to go full-swing on a mission of self-improvement.
But here’s the deal: although New Year’s resolutions can be a great way to set new goals (and provide you with a much-needed dose of motivation to go after them), they can also be overwhelming and draining.
So, if you feel like you’re still suffering from the effects of holiday stress, you might want to give yourself some time to take things slow.
No, this does not mean kicking healthy habits to the curb, getting super lazy, or giving up on your dreams and hopes for the future. It just means a bit of planning that accounts for your current energy levels.
For example, instead of forcing yourself to miraculously go after your fitness goals and show perfect restraint after a few weeks of indulging, why not try other ways of investing in your physical health? After all, adding a serving or two of vegetables to your daily diet is a super-easy nutrition hack. And it promises impressive returns at almost zero cost.
Then, as you become more comfortable with the changes you’ve made, you can slowly add new habits and activities to your plate, ensuring that you feel comfortable at every step of the way and aren’t depleting your already low energy sources.
Give Yourself a Moment to Breathe (Literally)
Breathing is one of the most commonly overlooked strategies for combating stress. Yet scientific research shows that some breathwork techniques actively eliminate the physical symptoms (and consequences) of stress.
For instance, if you learn to do the physiological sigh, you can soothe your nervous system, allowing yourself to calm down — even during the most stressful situations.
And the great thing is that this breathing technique only requires a little learning. All you need to do is breathe in. Then, before you’ve reached the top of your breath, you inhale again. From then on, you only need to exhale slowly through your mouth.
If this strategy works, you can also experiment with other de-stressing breathing techniques like box breathing or cyclic hyperventilation. Or, you can continue your natural breathing patterns and do a bit of meditation as a way of letting go of negative thoughts and feelings.
Change Your Surroundings
Finally, if you’ve been through the wringer this holiday season, your mental well-being might benefit from a change of environment.
No, we’re not referring to a week-long holiday in a tropical destination (though, if that’s an option, then definitely go for it). Instead, one of the most accessible ways to recharge and de-stress is to spend a few hours in a space that you won’t associate with the hustle and bustle of the holidays and do something for yourself.
For instance, you can book a relaxing treatment at a nice spa. You can do a long nature hike — especially as greenery has stress-reducing effects. Or, if you’re strapped for time, you can take a moment to go to a quiet little cafe and order yourself your favourite hot beverage as a treat.
Over to You
Doing things for yourself — especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed — is essential to caring for your mental health (though if you need to take a temporary break, do it).
So, if you’ve had a stressful December and feel like you need to recharge, consider trying the activities from this article. For the best results, you’ll embrace all four recuperation strategies. But if you can only manage one, don’t fret. Even the smallest step toward helping yourself feel more relaxed will have a tremendous positive impact on how you feel at the end of the day.
markmunroe
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