Hello, Pearl Team.
Welcome to October!
While fall can be a beautiful thing, it is also a period of change — adjusting to shorter days, time change, new schedules with back-to-school kids, and at the same time, knowing that the holiday season is looming over the horizon. This time of the year can be both joyous and stressful; so, I thought I would address that in my letter to you this month.
Our rituals and routines make us feel safe, and changes in routines can cause feelings of anxiousness. These changes can come from having family staying with you, preparing large holiday meals for gatherings, and changing how you do your budget to accommodate gifts, dinners, and house guests.
During the holiday season we are overwhelmed with gift buying and party planning, trying to make everything perfect for everyone, all of which results in placing higher expectations on ourselves. We are consumed with trying to make everything perfect.
Let us look at some ideas to better manage this stressful period:
- Try to stay as close to your routine as possible. Gradually work the seasonal expectations into your normal daily process.
- Decompress. Find something that grounds or centers you while making time for yourself each day.
- Identifying the stress triggers can help you deal with them.
- Understand that this disruption is temporary. Make a list of the positives that will come out of your hard work.
- Think back to previous holidays. What moments were the hardest? Pick your top two or three and have one or two action steps to help mitigate it. Plan the work and work the plan.
- Consider what brings you happiness and try to maximize those moments during the holidays, whether it is baking cookies or volunteering somewhere.
- Plan and prepare the best you can to be able to enter the holiday season with an idea of what you want to get out of it.
The holiday season can be a challenge. Maintain your own health by getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising when you can, and finding time to listen to music, read a good book, or just relax on your own.
Thank you,
Merry Korn, MSW
CEO