Be Gentle During the Holidays
Thanksgiving is Thursday. The holiday season is nearly upon us. And then we’ll be met with New Year’s resolution nonsense.
This time of year feels frenzied for most of us. Before we really get going, I would invite you to take a breath. Or several. To really consider what you want to get out of the next several weeks.
Perhaps you want to eat that delicious pie that you’ve been waiting all year for. The one that you haven’t given yourself permission to eat in the past.
Perhaps you want to make a list of humans whom you can call or text in the midst of family gatherings that elicits stress so that you can feel supported.
Maybe this year, you want to skip that party because of the omnipresent food talk. Self-protection is allowed.
Maybe this year you want to go to that party because you feel ready to be surrounded by delicious foods.
And maybe you don’t feel ready, but you are going to work with your treatment team to develop a plan to keep you feeling as confident as possible.
Maybe you want to be able to set a limit with a family member around food talk.
Maybe you want to go to that holiday party, and to take body talk off the table.
Maybe you don’t celebrate while the people around you are. Maybe the holiday season is hard. You’re not alone.
Maybe you get curious about your appetites. And play around with giving yourself permission to eat all the food. Seeing how it feels in your belly. Not allowing your mind to wander to places of judgment.
Maybe you commit to making all of your meals guilt-free. And not the sort of guilt-free that happens when you remove delicious food from the equation, but when you remove the emotion from the eating experience.
Maybe you want to invest a little bit more time practicing skills around relaxing your body. Maybe you use progressive muscle relaxation. Maybe put your feet on the floor, and feel anchored.
These are chaotic weeks. And because holidays are just days, and I know you can do days, weeks can just be days strung together.
You’ve got this.
