Written By Dr. Andrea Corwin, PT, DPT, OCS
For our patients, we know holidays can be stressful. It can mean getting thrown off of your self-care routines due to increased extracurriculars and family and friend activities. Patients may worry about flaring up their symptoms, slowing down their recovery, or failing to do their physical therapy home exercise program.
We have 5 tips for your wellness this holiday season.
1. Give yourself grace. Have loving compassion for yourself and empathize with the “hard” of the holidays. You will get through it. You always do. Remember this time is temporary, a short span of time. You are enough. You are doing the best you can. You will feel less stressed if you keep your inner critic quiet as much as possible. Don’t beat yourself up for missing a day of your exercises. Notice how it feels in your body to miss them. Honor that feeling and see how things feel tomorrow.
2. Get into nature, get some sun and brisk fresh air even just for 10 min a day. The cold will not hurt you. If you do have an eversion to cold weather. Be brave. Bundle up, take a brisk walk, and reward yourself with a warm drink or hot shower when you get back.
3. Savor your favorite parts of the season. Maybe you love holiday movies or looking at lights, baking, or gift wrapping. Write a list of the parts of the season you particularly like and make sure you carve out the time for them and savor it, reflect on it, and express gratitude for it. Not everyone likes everything, but even the Grinches out there can find something good about this time of year. Find your thing and savor it!
4. It’s okay to say “No”. No. Is a complete sentence. You don’t have to attend every activity or party. Check-in with yourself and be honest with yourself first. “Do I want to do that?,” “Is that the best use of my time and resources?” “Does this serve the highest good for me and my family?” You will be surprised how saying no sometimes feels so empowering and liberates you to do something else you would enjoy and savor more.
5. Schedule in self-care. Maybe it’s an appointment with your Reborn Physical Therapist, a massage, or an appointment with your mental health therapist, carving out time for yourself to slow down and the process will recharge your energy and decrease holiday burnout.
All of us at Reborn Health and Wellness hope you have a great holiday season. We are here for you. We support you in your healing journey and we want the best for you. We will see you at your next appointment!