von Britt Oldfield
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1. Dezember 2021
The Run-up to Christmas and Stress Every year I hope that the pre-Christmas season will be a quiet, reflective time for me. I dream about it, I imagine it - and every year it doesn't happen! Usually this period becomes more like a race against time in order to get everything done that needs to be done. To prevent the run-up to Christmas from getting too stressful, I've been cutting down any appointments to a minimum in December and am only seeing a few clients. That helps a bit. Nevertheless, the mad rush is still there - decorating the house, getting the Advent wreath, baking Christmas cookies, getting the Christmas tree, decorating the Christmas tree and buying the presents! These presents need to be carefully chosen. Should you order online or rather buy them in a store? Of course, they should be great, very special gifts. We so want our loved ones to be really happy with them! Yes, and then it is already time to plan the meals for Christmas Eve and the bank holiday days, to do the shopping and of course to prepare them so that Christmas will be a wonderful event for the family. Of course, this year everything is a little different. But that is precisely why the festive season should be particularly beautiful! But all of this also has a price - it creates pressure and pressure creates stress! Give Yourself a Present When you are stressed, you are not doing so well. You're more impatient, get annoyed more easily, and you just don't feel that well. This is a pity. It is a pity for you, of course, but also for your family. People with whom you spend a lot of time, i.e. your partner and your children, feel very clearly that something is up. Very sensitive people around you may even absorb these rather unpleasant feelings. So, I have decided to approach the Christmas season differently this year. In the run-up to Christmas I do not only want to look after others, but also take good care of myself - giving myself a gift, so to speak. And I would also like to encourage you to give yourself many small gifts over the next few weeks. Over the next few weeks make a little time for yourself every day. Create an oasis of calm every day in your busy everyday life and just do something that nurtures you. That could be just 5 minutes - but it should happen every day for the next 24 days! Maybe you would like to make your own TIME-FOR-ME ADVENT CALENDAR . I have scheduled a time-for-me activity in my diary for every day from the 1st to the 24th December. Of course, you could also make an advent calendar with activities written on pieces of paper with the numbers 1-24 kept in a box or hung up on a string with clothes pegs. Your Anti-Stress Advent Calendar - Bring a Little More Peace to Your World Here is my collection of ideas. If you have children, tell them beforehand that you are now having some quiet time for yourself and that you may only be disturbed if an emergency of immense proportions occurs. • ENJOY SOME TIME OUT: Treat yourself to a 5-minute break with a cup of tea or coffee. Drink slowly and mindfully and enjoy. • TAKE A WALK: Take a leisurely stroll alone or with someone whose presence you find entirely enjoyable. • FILL YOURSELF WITH GREAT JOY: Sit down and think of 3 situations that are associated with great joy for you. Visualise every situation with all your senses: What can you see, hear, feel, smell and taste? Enjoy this feeling of joy and feel it get stronger. • BREATHE LOVE: Breathe into your heart Imagine your heart is like a nose. You can breathe into your heart and breathe out from your heart as well. After you've done this a few times, you can breathe love in and out through your heart. After a few more breaths you can start spreading this love inside your body as you exhale and let it expand inside you. So, you breathe in love through your heart and when you breathe out you let this love gradually fill your whole body. • LAUGH OR SMILE: Read a joke or a funny story. Remember something funny or just start laughing. In the end, it doesn't matter if you laugh properly or just pretend. Either way, you'll feel better afterwards. • BLESS OTHERS: Take a few moments and bless people around you. Simply imagine the person you want to bless and say in your head or out loud: " ... (name), I bless you. " If you want you can also use your heart-breath and send love from your heart. You probably have a lot of good ideas yourself on how you can give yourself the gift of some time to de-stress every day. Afterwards, you will feel empowered, happier, and more content. There is also some scientific basis to all this. All 6 exercises that I have described above will get you out of the stress mode we are in a lot of the time. When you are stressed, the sympathetic nervous system reigns. With the time-out activities, you now switch off the sympathetic nervous system and you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxation. This allows your body and mind to relax and regenerate. Your body starts producing happiness hormones like serotonin or endorphins that make you feel much better. As a great side effect, they also strengthen your immune system! If you decide to only use my time-out activities, you can enjoy each activity 4 times over the 24 days up to Christmas. I hope you will experience a lot of joy and relaxation during your 24 little breaks. And you will see: Not only will you benefit from this time-out gift to yourself, but everyone around you will as well. If you would like to treat yourself to something that will get rid of your stress on a deeper level, then just come by for a hypnosis session. I look forward to seeing you! :)