Panic, fear, and budget-busting scenarios set in… Long car rides of cranky toddlers or teenagers with a destination to stressful in-laws, to spend time during the holiday season can make anyone feel less than joyful. The feelings would be more accurately pure dread, right? I know the feeling all too well, however lucky for us there are several amazingly helpful natural solutions to managing holiday stress!
Holiday stress got you down?
Somewhere around 70% of Americans claim they suffer “holiday stress”. That name alone would seem like a fictional thing to our ancestors, it is today’s reality. Many take to drinking, overeating, or self-medicating in other ways to cope with the extra stress that is brought on by the holidays, only to feel they are even more behind on their health goals when the New Year rolls around.
Stress is absolutely real. Stress tends to get labeled like it is like it just a feeling or emotion, just something in our mind, and nothing more than that.
In reality, when we face stress our bodies have actual chemical or psychological responses. Meaning we produce actual hormones, and our bodies experience real physiological responses.
When I was beginning to understand how to overcome my hypothyroidism I started to understand that stress was my enemy. Years of high stress led to my body not being able to fully deal with stress. I started an anti-stress campaign, anything or anyone that was an unnecessary stressor simply had to go. My health was on the line. As the saying goes, We can’t pour from an empty vessel. My family and my little kids needed me to be my best which meant I must learn to take care of myself.
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Stress is here, now what?
So you realize that stress is your enemy and it is blatantly knocking on your door what exactly can you do about it? There is always the bottle of anxiety medication that just about any doctor would happily prescribe, however, the negative side effects will greatly outweigh any positive ones (just listen to the fast-talking voice at the end of the commercial). Luckily there are several natural ways of managing holiday stress or anxiety and therefore the effects that stress has on us.
Meditation
Meditation and the known benefits are light years ahead of any anxiety medication, and millennia’s older. This time-tested technique is proven to lower blood pressure, heart rate, stress, and anxiety while achieving a higher level of peace of mind. Many different meditation techniques can be done anywhere, at just about any point in time. Middle of the high-stress family-filled turkey dinner or in the middle of looking over your budget-busting holiday expenses!
Herbs for stress
Many herbs are particularly helpful with stress. Herbs can help your body in many ways to deal with the stress it is under. Adaptogenic herbs are particularly good at this. Herbs can be taken in pill forms or as a tea. Here are just a few herbs that are known to be helpful for aiding your body through times of stress:
- Rhodiola
- Ashwagandha
- Holy Basil
- Schisandra
- Eleuthero
- Cordyceps
- Licorice
- Ginseng
Many of these herbs have a history going back 1000 years or more in the ancient forms of medicine. For example, Ashwagandha is one of the most highly regarded herbs in Ayurvedic medicine and proves to be highly valuable for a variety of ailments, making it wonderful at times of high stress.
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Tinctures
The fast-acting thing to keep on hand for any stress-filled occasion is tinctures. When you are in a pinch this is your go-to. More specifically Bach flower remedies. I can’t say I fully understand how these work but they do.
Bach flower remedies are intended to remedy a particular emotional state. There are 38 different remedies, which can be combined in certain ways to make even more. However, the one you do want to know is rescue remedy. This is one I used to keep in my purse for stress management on the go. They sell this one so much it comes in a dropper, mints, gums, sprays, some for kids, some for pets, that’s just to name a few.
Life will always throw stress our way. Yes, it is best to try to limit that stress, you don’t have to take my route and take a stress hiatus, but then again you can!
Learning a few simple stress management techniques can be extremely helpful to limit stress and the effects it can have on both our physical and emotional well-being. It doesn’t have to be a big deal it can mean focusing on your breathing or mindfully focusing on your eggnog. Taking a few drops of a tincture or sipping herbal tea. No matter the route, stress may be a constant companion during this season, but we don’t have to let it have its way ♡♡♡
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From our family to yours, thanks for stopping by
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Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.