Somatic Stress Relief Tips for the Holidays
We all face some level of stress on a daily basis. Stress is simply our body’s response to the internal or external environment. Some stressors or levels of stress trigger our autonomic nervous system to help us survive which may look like yelling, hiding, or shutting down. These acute stress responses can build up over a day, a week, a month, a lifetime which may condition our responses to the extent where they feel out of control or out of proportion to the actual stressor that is present. You might not normally fume with rage over an overcooked poultry but the holidays tend to bring a number of common stressors together in ways that can be unpleasant. The great news is we can learn to become more aware of these cycles and practice new responses to increase our capacity for handling stress in more skillful ways.
Food Stress- A caveat here that this advice does not constitute medical treatment for disordered eating or general nutrition. Food can be a very personal thing; please work with your support systems if you’re struggling with your food/eating relationships. Whether you’re making or eating it, food has meaning far beyond simple nutrition and a direct link to our experience of being in a body. This holiday season, if food is adding to your stress load, try taking a step back— literally! What happens if you move away or put the fork/whisk down and get a broader perspective? Are we being called to food by something or someone else? By a memory? What smells, sights, and textures do you notice?
Try moving toward and away from different foods (or even just the mental image of food). Many people have strong emotional reactions to smell and texture but we’re often conditioned to ignore those feelings. Recognizing that emotions and food can be interconnected may empower us to make more informed decisions about how we’re relating to food.
Family Stress- Who we are around, or not around, during cultural events like holidays can significantly impact our ability to regulate our emotions. Generally, humans are attuned to the mood of others around us to some extent to protect us from potential danger or to help us calm down, but this isn’t always a conscious choice! How does your body react when others are stressed or when you are feeling lonely? You can check by doing a quick body scan. Bring your shoulders up high toward your ears as you take a breath in, then let them fall back and down as you breathe out. Try tightening then releasing the muscles of your arms and hands timed with your breath. Move to your core, glutes, and legs, timed with a slow breath in and out as you tense and release muscles. This has a secondary benefit of bringing awareness to your breath which is the fastest way to affect your nervous system! Once you’ve completed your body scan, ask yourself “what do I need right now to feel safe/calm/connected/etc?”
Sensory Overwhelm- We also often rush through meals or to the next activity. We need time to let our seratonin engage and help us rest and digest and to give our nervous system cues of safety after being bombarded by twinkling lights, spices, and holiday music. Even if a holiday or tradition is your favorite thing of the year, your nervous system is operating off thousands of years of helping humans survive and may not always perceive information accurately. If it feels safe to do so, I highly recommend taking 5-20 minutes between activities to slow down or even rest somewhere comfortable.
This isn’t always possible, so you can also try this simple sensory reduction technique: rub the palms of your hands together at a pace that allows them to generate some warmth. Once they are warm, gently cup them over your eyes. You can close your eyes, as well, if that feels safe enough. You may want to extend this to your ears, nose, or any other sense that is feeling overwhelmed.
Our nervous systems are attuned to some degree to the other nervous systems in the room (for better or worse). If you’d like some support this season with practice attuning to yourself and others, please reach out to me to build your personalized suite of coping skills!