Congrats! You made it through the gift giving holidays and to the end of the year. The new year is right around the corner. This is usually a time that a lot of people reflect on what they accomplished in the past year. You also reflect on all of the highlights and happy moments you had over the past year. It is common for people to post on social media their top liked photos, the vacations they went on, their favorite movies or books, etc. This is a way to reminisce in all the things you enjoyed. The next thing that people turn their thoughts to are what they want their next year’s highlights to look like. Maybe they want to travel more, read more, or spend more time with family. There are so many things that people want to change in their life. It seems like a great time to reset and focus on accomplishing a new goal since you have a whole new year ahead of you. These hopes of change are called New Years Resolutions.
The holidays can be an extremely stressful time. Usually you have a lot more plans, you spend a lot more money than in your usual budget, you reflect on what you didn’t accomplish this year, you stress about the year ahead, and/or you find yourself feeling generally sad. All of these stressors are normal during the holiday season. As a mental health professional, I recommend that the holidays should be seen as your most important self-care time. Use this time to take off from your usual life stressors and relax. Below are some tips on how to do just that.
Whether you’re a student, a working professional, or a stay-at-home parent, you need to take breaks. Taking a break can look differently for each person. the overall goal is to stop doing whatever you’re doing long enough that you feel re-energized when you return to it. That’s why employers give you paid time off (PTO) and sick time. That’s why there are things called, “study breaks”. And that’s why there’s a saying, “come back to it when you can”. When taking breaks, there could be a lot of feelings that arise such as guilt as a break could feel like a waste of time and unproductive. I will discuss why this is not actually the case.
What is mommy guilt? It is when a mom has a feeling of shame while away from her children. There is a feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) while spending time away from your family. It could be that you’re at work, spending time with friends, traveling without your children, going on errands around town, a date with your partner, etc. Mommy guilt is a common feeling that most moms get, especially with a newborn. Mommy guilt can also be seen as a kind of anxious/nervous feeling that you cannot shake and always remains under the surface. Mommy guilt can stand in your way of the self-care that you need.
