Health & Wellbeing: Nervous system regulation tips to navigate the Christmas rush

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you “Be of good cheer” … “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”

On the opposite side, a recent statistic from YouGov, Mental Health Foundation UK, shows that 83% of the people are feeling lonely around Christmas time and 81% of the people are feeling very stressed and 47% of the people are afraid of getting in debt.

Our society has a huge impact on our mental health and subsequently on our nervous system. In the last decade or so it seems like we are living on a different level of stress.

And if we are not able to catch up with the silently imposed level of expectations from our society, friends, family or workplace, we slowly start to beat ourselves up and to feel overwhelmed.

Christmas time is not any different. We can very easily become victims of trends and expectations and it is vital to know what to do in order to support and help ourselves to overcome these situations without allowing them to take a toll on our mental health.

Our nervous system is our internal software and has its own intelligence. But when our nervous system gets exposed to and assaulted by external factors things can get out of order very easy and move from a place of balance and optimal functioning to a place of dysregulation.

The question is, can we do something about this? The answer is yes, it is in our power to bring ourselves in balance once we know how.

Here are a few ways that will help us to navigate this challenging time of the year.
1. Becoming aware of the external pressure. Being able to recognise if your decisions are made driven by your own wishes or you became a victim of external circumstances. Asking yourself a simple question like: is this what I would do if was 100% up to me? Or is this going to put my mind to ease or it will add more stress?

2. Set healthy and mindful boundaries. No one has the right to tell you what you should do or how you should feel. And this is true when it comes to our loved ones as well. Making a mindful compromise can be helpful but only if it’s not detrimental to our own mental health in long term. Love yourself enough to respect what you really want and communicate your decisions from a place of love not from a place of conflict.

3. Manage your time very carefully, your finances and your energy because they are your own resources. If you know where you stand and what do you have in your pursue you can make conscious decisions that will prevent you from getting frustrated or overwhelmed. Consider all three of these resources equally important and do your best to keep them in balance. Dealing with someone who is an energetic vampire is equally damaging for your mental health as it would be to overspend for the sake of pleasing someone and then become stressed because you can’t pay your bills.

4. Get playful. There is no better pill than a natural dose of endorphins and getting in touch with your inner child it will create an explosion of endorphins in your brain.

5. Approach food and drink with a different mindset. Nourish your body and find joy in healthy food. Less is more when it comes to food and alcohol. Drink plenty of water to keep your brain happily hydrated.

6. Get outside for a walk. And do a walking meditation by simply repeating a little mantra in your mind “One step at the time”, while you are focusing on the colours of the sky and the physical sensations in your body and become aware of your breath.

7. Take a social media break and read a book or listen to a calming playlist. Stay still and stare at the flames in the fireplace. Or, if you don’t light a fire, stare at a flame of a candle while you take a few belly breaths making sure that you inhale deep into your belly.
The stress pushes down the level of oxygen so a deep belly breathing exercise for two minutes will rebalance the oxygen level in your brain.

8. Start writing your thoughts and connect with your feelings being aware of them but without identify yourself with them. For example you say… I am feeling lonely…but in fact you are not lonely. You feel loneliness because …get curios and aware when it comes to your thoughts and feelings.

9. Communicate, talk, laugh, there is no better way to release serotonin in your brain then laughing.

10. Ask for support if you feel overwhelmed and you feel like you can’t cope alone. Text: 50808 is a free, anonymous, 24/7 messaging service providing everything from a calming chat to immediate support.
Have a peaceful and mindful Christmas!