8 Ways to Stay Grounded During the Holidays

The routine may sound yawningly familiar: wake up, get kids ready for school, get kids in the car, drop them off at school, sit in traffic heading to the office, put in my 6-7 hours, try to beat rush hour, pick up kids, prepare something worthy of human consumption dinner,  supervise homework, make sure kids do not kill each other, get children showered and ready for bed, fall asleep while putting them to bed. Wake up. Repeat.

Come the holidays – hosting friends and family – and stress levels go into overdrive. 

Following an especially tense few months last year, I tried everything short of psychotropic drugs to neutralize overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety.

Here are some of the things that work for me:

  • Meditation Apps and Books – The single and childless me would scoff at self-help books and meditation apps as “for the weak of heart.” Add a husband, full-time job, a man-child, and another man-child, I now relish titles like “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.”  One of my favorite meditation apps, Meditation Studio allows users to choose which calm voice will lull your anxious mind into a peaceful state.
  • Yoga – Single childless Me would *cringe* at the chorus of suburbanites repeating “Namaste” at the behest of their Vinyasa instructor.  I still cringe a little, but find that being present in this group experience – even if it’s in child’s pose for a majority of the class –  is incredibly relaxing and soothing.
  • Reconnect with Friends – Without exception, all of us are busy these days.  Single childless me would languor over hour-long soul-baring conversations with a wide range of friends.  Now, it takes a dedicated effort to make time to keep friendships alive, but worth the effort for endless reasons including sharing relatable experiences.
  • Create a Quiet Space – My kids have taken over every inch of my home. But I still try and maintain a little patch of zen at the corner of my bed and nightstand that holds my glasses,  the book I’ve been trying to finish for the past 2.5 years, a lamp, an aromatherapy diffuser, my phone with meditation app.  Most importantly, the bedroom door only opens from the inside.
  • De-Clutter – Ever notice how the most put together homes have so little stuff? Remember the Feng Shui craze? There are studies out there that show the more clutter we have the more stress we take on. Clutter may even (gasp) be making us fat. Get the trash bags out, time for a Goodwill run.
  • Establish a Weekly or Daily Ritual – We all have enough to do on a regular basis that we dread, so establish one or more daily or weekly rituals that you look forward to. A hot bath on a Monday, a pedicure on a Wednesday, baking fresh bread on a Friday.
  • Take a Break from Social Media – There are too many horror stories of animal neglect, child abuse, freak accidents, and flesh-eating viruses on our feeds. Once we read those headlines, they seep into our collective subconscious and wreak havoc.  No matter how much we try to diffuse these poison nuggets with Roomba-riding shark-costumed cats, ignorance is bliss. Somehow we all survived a childhood without an iPad, smartphone, Instagram or Facebook. I haven’t tried, but we can probably survive adulthood this way too.
  • Sleep – No explanation necessary.
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Dana
Dana is a working mom of two active boys, ages 4 and 8. She was born in Tel Aviv and raised in Atlanta. With a background in journalism, she spent 12 years chasing deadlines as a news and documentary producer, writer, international news desk editor, and web editor.  After the birth of her first child, it became obvious she was not going to be the next Katie Couric or Christiane Amanpour. She was still dedicated, but the only thing gained from the grueling weekend and overnight shifts was a case of gastritis. She remembers being "so busy" she could not step away for lunch/dinner/breakfast and would have to shove the food down while hovering over her computer. The disgusting crumbs piling up in the keyboard were hers. As luck would have it, another round of layoffs was near and she seized the opportunity (having survived a few layoffs before). Several months into her severance she was fortunate to find a job in PR and Communications, promoting a subject that felt like a natural fit.   The most important lesson she's learned since becoming a mom is: NEVER say never. "I will NEVER shop at Costco, drive a car with a carpool number, become a 'soccer' mom, live near my parents in a house in the suburbs."  She now does all those things and more she never thought she would with the utmost feeling of gratitude.