Are you stressed about Christmas? At the very thought of Christmas? All the preparations for Christmas? All the guests, who may be loved and maybe not? You are not alone!
And the current UK weather is not helping – wind and rain and more wind and more rain. Recently I have had a whole spate of stressed and worried patients concerned about their tight necks and shoulders – what I call the milk-maids yoke – do you know that feeling?
Here are my seven tips to help reduce Christmas stress:
1. Stay warm. When it’s windy and when it’s cold, we instinctively hunch our shoulders – so it’s really important to keep your neck warm – roll-neck jumpers, scarves. And woolly hats to keep your head and ears warm. These will help you to relax those shoulders.
Shoulders as earrings is not an elegant look!
2. Some simple shoulder rolling – always going backwards so that you are opening your chest – will also help. So much of our lives are spent stooping and folding ourselves forward: computing, driving, cooking: so anything that opens out our front will help improve our posture.
3. Remember to breathe – belly breathe that is, not little shallow breaths from those tight shoulders, but slow deep belly breathing, feel your lower ribs working.
Here’s a useful breathing pattern, what I call Square Breathing, or you may know it as Box Breathing:
Breathe in to 4, hold for 4, breathe out to 4 and again hold for 4.
Simply counting it can be very calming. If you have children or grandchildren, who are getting over-excited, perhaps try doing it with them, as a game!
A version I came up with the other day, when I had a few minutes to wait for someone, was to mentally say:
– I breathe in Love
– [spell] L-O-V-E
– I breathe out Forgiveness
– [spell] G-I-V-E
– I breathe in Forgiveness
– [spell] G-I-V-E
– I breathe out Love
– [spell] L-O-V-E
The combination of love and forgiveness was really powerful and deeply centering.
4 .Certain scents are very calming, lavender, rose, geranium – so whether you use scented candles, or room spray, or try aromatherapy rollers and dab some on your pulse points, and also under your nose. Lavender candles for the main Christmas gatherings might help everyone to calm down.
5. Music – some quiet gentle calming music, whether Christmassy or otherwise – whether in the car or in the kitchen, or if you have the luxury of a long pampering soothing bath . . .
6. Time permitting, allow yourself to have a lie down – if only for a couple of minutes. This helps to calm down the adrenal glands and your cortisol levels. Longer is better, time permitting that is.
Or – go for a brisk walk! When we are in Fear Fight or Flight mode, we are actually primed to move – whether to fight the marauding invading tribes [in-laws], or to flee the sabre-toothed tiger [more in-laws] – so in fact some vigorous exercise can help us to use up those stress hormones, and get the pleasure endorphins flowing instead. This is why something like going for a run, or an intense game of squash, can be so beneficial in helping us to cope with these intense times.
7. If all else fails, scream into a pillow . . . 
Do you have any useful tips for de-stressing?
If you live or work in or near Baldock in North Hertfordshire, or Bromley in South East London, and would like to have a chat about how osteopathy might be able to help you, then do get in touch: text me or call me on 07535 350 343. I may be with a patient, so a text is best, and I can call you back.