By Erin Gillingham
This time of year can be filled with joy and fun, but with that comes stress, sadness, and a bevy of other emotions and feelings. The seasons are changing, the temperatures are getting colder, and the time change is making it darker earlier. The environmental stress alone can be rough. So we asked our staff: How do you survive the season?
- Scented candles always make me feel warm and happy. Fuzzy blankets and socks are good for when you’re feeling down in Winter. Also, a great way to spend a cold, dark evening is with a holiday movie and hot chocolate or a warm beverage.
- Setting a price budget with everyone beforehand really helps when it comes to gift giving. For example, making it clear everyone is only giving $20 gifts.
- I like to put more care and intention into my morning and night routines, like taking hot showers, hydrating my skin with soothing products, and stretching before getting in bed and right after waking up.
- When I’m around a lot of people (whether in public or at family events), I like to bring earplugs and other sensory tools, like things to fidget with. As someone on the spectrum, I do a lot better when I feel more in control of my senses.
- Plan ahead! I love having things to look forward to during the fall and winter to make it less dreary—whether that’s a trip to the coast to look for sea glass or spending time with friends.
- Using my ‘Happy Light’ to manage seasonal depression. I like using this once a day for 30 minutes to an hour while I’m doing crafts or some other form of self-care.”
- Prioritize self-care and soothing activities, such as going for walks, listening to music, drinking tea, and spending quality time with pets.
- Minimize or eliminate time with stress to be around family or friends.
- Make an agreement with others you plan to exchange gifts with around spending limits.
- Or better yet, share a meal together, take a walk and look at holiday lights, or see a performance you would all enjoy.
- Start your own new traditions that have meaning to your life based on your values.
- I’ll submit my trusty yearly recommendation of this book!
Birdwatching has been my go-to stress reliever. I have multiple bird feeders during the winter, even a heated one for the hummingbirds. I’ve asked for a “bird buddy” feeder for Christmas. It sends a picture to your phone every time a bird lands at the feeders. I’m also seriously into Epsom salt baths in the winter. They’re great for relaxing after a stressful day.
- It’s also important to set realistic expectations for myself during the holidays. If I only focus on making sure everyone else is happy but sacrifice my own happiness and energy, then that’s a lose-lose situation.
- I love things that keep my spirit warm and cozy, like blankets, books, candles etc. I also love the traditions that remind me of home, like cooking my favorite recipes, spending an evening searching out the best holiday lights with my friends, and spending a day baking and making gift boxes with my sister.
- Sharing a moment of silence, a poem or a prayer can improve how you digest your meals, emotions, and tensions.
This poem is from the book Fragrance after the Rain by Jayai John:
“GRATITUDE IS A RIVER. If you live in it, your heart and soul grow supple. You flow with life. If you leave gratitude’s river behind, everything you are grows hard, rigid, suffering. Your body, your spirit, your relations, your life.
Stay in the river, Revolutionary. Especially as you work to heal and unpeel the countless layers of oppression that shape your life and the world. Identify your blessings. Name them, so they know when you are calling for them. Feed them. They like organic nourishment. Praise them. They will swell. Mantra your names. They will multiply. Rest with them. They will be your fire and dance. Stay in the river of Gratitude. It will carry you to your dream home. Which is Peace.'”
- One for me is self compassion and humor. This quote comes to mind if I am being hard on myself about “regressing” or becoming activated:”
