Holiday stress is a common experience across the globe. We are very familiar with the stress involved with getting shopping done in time, that hunt for the best deal, and the familiar pressure to rush to stores for the legendary Black Friday sales. This year brings a new level of stress with the ever-changing regulations brought on by the pandemic and the election.
The usual stress levels associated with not getting to the store in time, has evolved to the fear of not only having the time, but making sure you’re getting there safely and able to practice social distancing while having a sanitary shopping experience. The people that are afraid to shop in a physical store rely on online shopping, which COVID-19 has also impacted by creating delay in delivery time for post. So, now what used to be our failsafe has become another level of stress. This fear that we may not purchase our gifts in time and affect our families’ experience of the holidays creates a lot of pressure.
There is also a change in the income levels in households across the globe with unemployment rates doubling since the pandemic, as a result, not all families can have their typical Christmas. The financial stress the pandemic has brought on is only becoming intensified during the time of the holidays. Holidays can easily change the focus of what they are meant to be about – spending time with loved ones and appreciating what we have – but even with that mindset that can alleviate the stress of gift giving, there is still pressure to see our family. It is recommended that we still maintain safe social distancing practices while celebrating the holidays this year. There is a fear that when you do get the family together that you are putting your relatives at risk of being exposed to COVID-19. At every turn there seems to be a barrier, but luckily there are tools to help you manage these stressors. Part of our holiday culture should also be self-care.
We cannot be there for our family and our loved ones if we are not also there for ourselves. There are plenty of tools to practice self-care and maintain your mental health wellness. Whether you have spare time or not there are options for everybody. Meditation has come forward as the go to practice for taking care of your mental health, but there is one other practice that is surfacing and becoming more mainstream and that is hypnotherapy. Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist Christine Deschemin states “Hypnotherapy is the oldest form of therapy. In my opinion, meditation is a subset of hypnosis. Hypnosis is more powerful in the sense that it can help a wide variety of ailments such as stress management, anxiety/depression, gastrointestinal issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, childbirth preparation, and phobias. You can also let go of bad habits, manage pain, and prepare for surgery with hypnosis.”
According to Mind Body Hypnotherapy, meditation is passive, and hypnosis is active with a goal to change one subconscious behavior to another. So, you can target your specific stress triggers. This means if you are stressing about your finances due to the holidays, you can focus on that specifically and you can tackle your reaction and response to these issues through hypnotherapy.
So, how do you practice Self-Hypnosis? If you are not well versed in the art of self-hypnosis, there are audios that can guide you through the process. Deschemin created a self-hypnosis app, UpNow to make hypnotherapy and mental health care affordable and accessible to everyone. There are over 100 audios to choose from so you can target your specific needs.
Practicing hypnotherapy as your mental health routine only requires 25 minutes out of your day for a recommended 30 days to make what could be a life changing result. It gives listeners an opportunity to set time aside to relax and manage their stress and take care of their mental health. Deschemin says “It is so effective that it is almost traditional.” So why don’t we make hypnosis as part of our Mental Health Care part of our new holiday traditions?
