5 Tips To Beat Holiday STRESS

5 Tips To Beat Holiday Stress | www.hannahhepworth.com

We’re approaching one of the most exciting times of the year.  I absolutely love Thanksgiving and spending time with family, eating delicious food, relaxing and playing games while the kids run around with their cousins having a great time and falling asleep hard at night:)

And although the holidays are filled with so much excitement and goodness, they can also bring a little stress…

There’s extra cooking, additional social engagements, more money being spent, dance recitals, band concerts, parties, and more.  It can be a lot to handle and sometimes a little extra stress with the cold weather thrown in there, you begin dealing with sickness more than usual.

I remember a few years ago when the Christmas season was upon me I felt this overwhelming sense of anxiety creep into my body.  My chest started feeling tight, I started stressing about all the money that would be spent that month and I wanted it to just all be over.  I felt so bad thinking this way, because it’s supposed to be such a happy time of year, but this particular year I just wanted to skip this season!

I know I’m not the only one who has a hard time with the holiday season.  Thankfully we have many tools we can use to reduce our stress levels and once again enjoy this joyous time of year.

  1. One thing that made a HUGE difference for me was to begin regularly taking a homeopathic blend. It’s called Nerve Tonic and I still keep some in my purse for stressful times.  Within a couple days the tightness in my chest started to dissipate and I could finally relax.  Oh, how grateful I was to finally feel like I could unwind!
  2. Another thing you can do is start incorporating essential oils into your daily routine.  Actually I recommend using them multiple times a day.  Start the morning by rubbing lavender on your feet layered with roman chamomile.  Both are very soothing herbs.  Diffuse warm holiday scents like cinnamon, clove, orange and pine.  At night place a drop of a restful or grounding blend on your pillow or if you want something more sweet try ylang ylang.  Vetiver is another nice essential oil to promote restfulness.
  3. If you’re going to take 1 supplement let it be magnesium.  I can’t stress this enough!  If you’re the type that wakes up anxious and sick to your stomach in the morning magnesium will really help you with this.  It’s the number 1 anti-stress mineral.  Natural Calm brand is a highly absorbable form but it can cause diarrhea so you try using magnesium glycinate instead.  However if you tend to be constipated the magnesium citrate in Natural Calm might just be the perfect thing for you!
  4. Find time to exercise.  Nothing burns off all those extra stress hormones like some good exercise.  Aim for 30 minutes a few times a week.  It will also help you balance your hormones, help you sleep at night and boost your confidence.  Plus it will help you burn off a few extra calories that you will probably consume this week;)
  5. Try not to binge on sugar.  I’m not saying that you need to give it up all together but try having 1 slice of pie rather than half of the pie:)  Balance your meals with tons of veggies and protein.  Go low on the carbs and high on the protein and veggies.  Try and cover half your plate with veggies!  This will help even out your blood sugar so you can indulge a little without it totally ruining your mood.

There are many more things you can do to help reduce stress in your life.  Luckily this is one of my favorite topics to discuss so there will be more to come shortly!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving:)

Love,

Hannah