How to enjoy the Christmas season

Christmas can be a fraught time. It’s the one time of year where we spend intense time with our families. For some, that is fantastic – for others it can make the whole experience of xmas a really difficult one.

You cannot control the way your Dad talks to you about the things you should be doing with your life, the way your Aunt Nora always gets drunk and tells everyone what she really thinks of them, or the way your sister always puts you down.  But you can control your reaction to it. You see - as your Dad starts spouting all that stuff about how you should have a better job by now and how you are wasting your talents, all sorts of thoughts will be triggered in your head (likely from when he did the same sort of thing when you were a child) such as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘my Dad will never be proud of me’ etc etc. And with those thoughts come all sorts of emotions which can feel over-whelming and bring on anxiety or panic attacks. 

This Christmas try to get some distance from your thoughts.  As your Dad says ‘..and you should be married by now’, don’t let your thoughts spiral. Instead try saying to yourself ‘I am happy with my choices’ and see how the reaction in your body is different.  See how you are able to let things go more that would have upset you for ages in the past. Relax and let the tension go. A relaxed body cannot also feel anxious. Here is hoping that Christmas 2019 is an enjoyable one for you.

If you would like some help to unearth those beliefs that make life difficult for you and hold you back, I can help. For a FREE 15 minute consultation, contact me.