JustBreathe

a magazine by HEALING HOTELS OF THE WORLD

  • Body
    • Health
    • Ayurveda
    • Detox
    • Anti-Stress
    • Beauty
    • Healing Water
    • Graceful Aging
    • Weight Loss
    • Fitness
    • Sleep
  • Mind
    • New Consciousness
    • Mindfulness
    • Meditation
    • Yoga
    • Spirituality
  • Life
    • Holistic Lifestyle
    • Inspirational Podcasts
    • Inspiring People
    • Green Living
    • Charity
  • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
  • Healing Hotels
Close
JustBreathe
Close
  • Body
    • Health
    • Ayurveda
    • Detox
    • Anti-Stress
    • Beauty
    • Healing Water
    • Graceful Aging
    • Weight Loss
    • Fitness
    • Sleep
  • Mind
    • New Consciousness
    • Mindfulness
    • Meditation
    • Yoga
    • Spirituality
  • Life
    • Holistic Lifestyle
    • Inspirational Podcasts
    • Inspiring People
    • Green Living
    • Charity
  • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
  • Healing Hotels

Protecting Your Mental Health During the Holidays

Mind, Mindfulness, New Consciousness December 4, 2020 Tess Brigham
Protecting Your Mental Health During the Holidays

© Jakob Owens

The holidays have always been a complicated time of year. For some people they’ve been looking forward to finally having the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. For others, it’s a time of high anxiety as they navigate crowded malls, run from office parties to neighborhood gatherings, wake up at dawn to cook all day and manage their always disappointed in-laws.

Whether the holidays bring you a sense of joy or a sense of dread, this year is going to be different.

Many people manage this time by simply putting a smile on their face and holding their breath until January 2nd arrives so they can finally exhale. Since mid-March of this year our entire world has been managing a variety of emotions on a daily basis. While we each have had a different pandemic experience, we’ve all experienced more anxiety, more stress and more uncertainty than years past.

The American Psychological Association recently released their study on Stress in America 2020 and not surprisingly the APA found, “Many Americans are experiencing considerable stress related to the coronavirus and are also reporting higher levels of general stress than in recent years.” This is why protecting your mental health during this holiday season needs to be your top priority.

Based on my experience working with my clients this past year, they’re most worried about how to manage their feelings of isolation and loneliness as well as coping with their feelings of uncertainty.

There are three “mantras” for you to remember this holiday season to protect your mental health:
Be Mindful, Get Grateful and Stay Connected.

 

Be Mindful

Long before Covid-19 and despite our ability to be “connected” all the time via our smartphones, people have been struggling with feelings of loneliness. A 2006 study showed that one out of every four people felt like they didn’t have anyone to talk to about their personal problems.

mindfulness for mental health

Loneliness isn’t about physically being alone, it’s about how we feel about being alone. We feel lonely when we’re disconnected to ourselves and to the people around us. In some cases our loneliness is a direct result from the circumstances of our lives. When my clients feel lonely they automatically start trying to find ways to distract themselves. We all really struggle with simply allowing ourselves to feel our feelings without trying to “fix” or solve the problem. Acknowledge how you feel without judgement will allow you to move through your feelings much faster.

Learning to practice mindfulness is one of the best things you can do for yourself, not only as a way to manage your feelings of loneliness but as a way of simply managing your emotions. If you’re not familiar with mindfulness, it’s being able to focus your attention on the present moment. Practicing mindfulness means you’re bringing your awareness to what’s happening in your body and mind at that moment.

 

Get Grateful

There are several reasons why this year has been so hard on everyone but the hardest aspect of living through this pandemic has been managing feelings of uncertainty. As you learn to be more mindful of your thoughts and feelings, the best way to focus on what you’re certain about are the things that make you feel happy and hopeful for the future.

gratefulness

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, being able to show appreciation and return kindness to another person. Research has shown practicing gratitude on a regular basis changes our brains and our bodies by improving our sleep, our self-esteem, our relationships with other people and lowers aggression.

The simple act of thinking positive thoughts creates more positive thoughts and feelings. When you replace old negative toxic thoughts with more positive ones, you’re spending less time ruminating on negative thoughts. It’s our thoughts that determine how we feel about ourselves and the world around us.

When you find yourself feeling unhappy or anxious about something, try thinking about what you’re grateful for, which automatically replaces your negative thoughts.

 

Stay Connected

While we all have our smartphones permanently glued to our hands these days, we’re more disconnected from one another than ever before. Long before Covid-19, my clients were struggling with the quality of their relationships. They would text constantly but didn’t feel any closer or more connected to the people in their lives.

This holiday season is your opportunity to start connecting with the people in your life again. Don’t assume your loved one is “busy” and doesn’t want to hear from you. Pick up the phone and call them. We’re all struggling with “zoom fatigue” so find other creative ways to be connected with your family. Set up your laptop at your kitchen table and “share a meal” with a friend or family member. Find unique and thoughtful note cards you can mail to your loved ones and let them know what’s going on in your life and that you want to hear about their lives as well.

stay connected

Stay connected but really limit how much time you spend on social media. Messaging someone on Instagram or by Facebook messenger is nice but it shouldn’t be your primary way of communicating with the people in your life. Social media tends to make us feel like we’re missing out on something or not living our lives as well as our friends. If you start to feel those kinds of feelings, get off social media and remember to be mindful and get grateful.

While it wasn’t anyone’s choice to make this year different and many of the things that have made this year different were negative, that doesn’t mean we have to approach the end of the year with a negative

 

Tags: mental health

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

FOOD FOR YOUR SOUL– A COLUMN

Make a New Friend in 2021: Self-Awareness

Following her last article, Claudia shares more on life in the New Age. Today’s focus is on self-awareness and why it is so important (especially now!). Read more →

This is Our Chance. What to Expect From The Age of Aquarius?

Together, we can dare the step into something new. As we are experiencing the dawn of a new era, we are gifted with the opportunity for lasting change. Read more →

Conscious Gifting: Mastering Life in the Christmas Present

With so much disruption and confusion going on, both inside and outside, even the joy of giving calls for a new and more mindful approach. Read more →

Newsletter Signup

* indicates required

Trending:

Recent tweets

January 15, 2021 15:51 pmMeditation to combat these challenging times? 🧘🏼 Our new article explains why meditation is a powerful tool against… https://t.co/LqSiGM5nF9
January 13, 2021 16:37 pmIn her latest #FoodForYourSoul column, @crothburns (founder of @SoulLuxury1) shares her insight on why it is so imp… https://t.co/VwIxic9LOz
January 8, 2021 11:46 amMeditation has been proven to reduce stress and therewith, increase your health. We would like to invite you to try… https://t.co/peE8OEpUP8
December 21, 2020 12:23 pmIn this new article of our #FoodForYourSoul column @crothburns (founder of @SoulLuxury1) writes about the transform… https://t.co/9mkmWED6R4
December 18, 2020 13:37 pmDay 5 of our Gratitude Week ✨ Together, we will focus on the ether element and bring forward a sense of love and co… https://t.co/rEuSqiJg9D

Follow us on Twitter →

justbreathemag

An online magazine created to change minds, habits & hearts 💛
#healing #health #wellbeing
Imprint & Privacy Policy: justbreathemag.com/instagram.html

Meditation to combat these challenging times? 🧘 Meditation to combat these challenging times? 🧘🏼
Our new article explains why meditation is a powerful tool against the COVID-19 stress and how it will help us to come out of the pandemic even stronger (link in bio).

#JustBreatheMag #JustBreathe #NewArticle #Meditation #Powerful #StressRelease #Challenging #Mindset #Wellbeing #Change #Chance #Pandemic #StaySafe #StayHealthy
As we are moving towards a new consciousness, our As we are moving towards a new consciousness, our focus lies on creating a new sense of self-awareness.✨ In her latest #FoodForYourSoul column, @claudiaroth (founder of @soul.luxury) shares her insight on why this is so important, especially now.

To read more about life in the New Age, click the link in our bio. 

#JustBreathe #JustBreatheMag #FFYS #NewArticle #SelfAwareness #NewConsciousness #NewYear #Mindset #BodyMind #Wellbeing #Change #Chance
Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and th Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and therewith, increase your health. We would like to invite you to try this breathing exercise to start the year right and decrease your stress level! ✨

To read the whole exercise, click on the link in our bio.🙌

#Breathe #JustBreathe #Meditation #BreathExercise #NewYear #StressRelease #Health #BodyMind #Mindfulness
#Repost @healinghotels ・・・ Happy Holidays f #Repost @healinghotels 
・・・
Happy Holidays from our heart to yours! 💛✨

#HappyHolidays #HolidaySeason #Heartfilled #Joy #Warmth #Hearts #OldFriends #HealingHotelsOfTheWorld
The 21st of December 2020 is a very special date, The 21st of December 2020 is a very special date, as it marks the beginning of a new era: the dawn of the Age of Aquarius. 🙌☀️
In this new article of our #FoodForYourSoul column, @claudiaroth (founder of @soul.luxury) writes about the transformation that is ahead of us.✨
To find out what to expect, read the latest article by clicking the link in our bio.

#SpecialDate #NewEra #AgeOfAquarius #Inspiration #FFYS #JustBreatheMag #JustBreathe #NewArticle #Column #Wellbeing #BodyMind #Change #Chance
Load More... Follow on Instagram

About JustBreatheMag

Just Breathe is an online magazine that was created to change minds, habits and hearts on the most important and current topics: health and wellbeing.

Powered by

Healing Hotels of the World Logo

Popular Tags

ageing anxiety Ayurveda balance beauty breath business charity consciousness coronavirus crystals detox diet DIY fear Fitness five elements gratitude happiness healing Healing Hotels HEALING SUMMIT health healthy nutrition inflammation inspiration intention Life lifestyle Meditation mindfulness nutrition podcast recipe self care sleep spirituality stress sustainability TCM transformation Travel weight loss wellbeing yoga

Behind the Scenes

  • Article Submission
  • About Us
  • Contact

Newsletter Signup

* indicates required
Legal Info | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Settings