Diwali 2022: Here’s why self-care is important during the festive season

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With added pressure to find the perfect gifts, plan festive meals and gatherings, and keep up with our work and social commitments, it’s no wonder that so many of us end up feeling frazzled and exhausted

The festive season is a time for joy, relaxation, and spending quality time with family and friends. As wonderful as this time of year can be, it can also be a trigger for a lot of people. With added pressure to find the perfect gifts, plan festive meals and gatherings, and keep up with our work and social commitments, it’s no wonder that so many of us end up feeling frazzled and exhausted. It’s also a time when many of us put our needs aside to make others happy, which leads to added stress. It’s important to take care of ourselves during the festive season. After all, if we are not feeling our best, we won’t be able to enjoy all that the holidays have to offer.

Make sure to check in with yourself if you are:

• Feeling overwhelmed
• Having a hard time focusing
• Feeling constantly on edge
• Having trouble sleeping
• Finding it difficult to control your emotions
• Increasingly irritable or angry
• Feeling constantly under pressure

It is essential to set aside time for activities that help us recharge and have quality ‘me’ time. These might include taking a relaxing bath, getting outside to enjoy nature, practising mindfulness or meditation techniques, or engaging in other enjoyable hobbies and activities.

Here are a few self-care tips to help you survive and thrive during the festive time:

Don’t overcommit: The festive season is a busy time for everyone, which can often lead to us over-committing ourselves. This can leave us feeling exhausted and stressed. It’s important to take a step back and reassess our commitments. Prioritise what is most important to us and let go of anything that is not essential.

Set ground rules: If there are family members or friends who tend to bring up delicate subjects or topics that are likely to cause arguments, set some ground rules before they visit. Draw healthy boundaries and honour them. This will help avoid awkwardness or tension during the visits.

Set realistic expectations: One of the biggest causes of stress during the festive season is setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves. We want everything to be perfect and pressurise ourselves. However, things rarely go according to plan and that’s okay. Accept that things may go wrong and that it’s not a big deal. This will help you to relax and enjoy the festivities more.

Don’t overindulge: One of the most tempting things about the festive season is the delicious food and drink on offer. It’s okay to indulge occasionally but do not overdo it. Overeating and drinking can lead to feeling sluggish and low in energy, which isn’t how you want to feel during this special time of year.

Be mindful of your spending: The holidays can be an expensive time of year — between buying gifts for our loved ones and attending all those festive parties. It’s important to be mindful of our spending so that we don’t end up putting ourselves under financial stress later. Make a budget before starting holiday shopping and stick to it as much as possible.

By following these simple self-care tips, we will be able to enjoy all that this magical time of year has to offer.

(Dr. Chandni Tugnait is M.D. (Alternative Medicines), Psychotherapist, Life Coach, Business Coach, NLP Expert, Healer, Founder & Director — Gateway of Healing)