Holiday anxiety or holiday joy? What characterizes this time of year for you?

For too many people, the Holidays have become busy, stressful, and even disappointing. They fly by in a rush of too many activities, and leave us exhausted as we head into a New Year.

This year, you can replace holiday anxiety with holiday joy. Here’s how.

5 Ways to Replace Holiday Anxiety with Holiday Joy 

1. Start By Energizing Yourself

During the hustle and bustle, it’s easy to forget to eat well, drink enough water, and to get enough sleep. These are your body’s power sources! Don’t let them slip. Here are a few tips to help:

1. Start with Keto Coffee in the morning. There’s no more delicious way than to use Keto Zone MCT Oil Powder. It can promote energy, optimal brain function, mental focus, and health (1)! 
2. Don’t skip meals during the middle of the day – this is when you need energy the most! Then, you can lighten up or use intermittent fasting from evening through mid-morning.
3. Hydrate! Get at least 64 ounces water per day plus any other fluids you enjoy.
4. Get enough sleep. Aim for 8-9 hours per night. Adequate sleep is dire for mental health, emotional health, and physical health. In fact, inadequate high-quality sleep is associated with increased risk of mortality in middle age and older adults (2)!

2. Overscheduled? Clear It Out!

If the holiday season is rush, rush, rush, choose to say “no” more often. Busy schedules almost always increase holiday anxiety.

The extra activities bring joy to some, and stress to others.  If it’s stress for you, choose a simpler peaceful holiday season rather than a busy one. It’s okay to say “no” to extra activities.

3. Tame Your Stress

Unfortunately, the holiday season has become one of the most stressful times of year for many people. This year, tame the stress. A few ways to reduce your anxiety are:

1. Realize that the holiday season is prime time for seasonal depression, and sometimes our anxiety and stress stem from this shift in hormones. To help, get outside for 20-30 minutes in sunlight. Sunlight improves moods and gives increases Vitamin D production, a vitamin linked to mood and health. Next, if you live at a latitude north of Atlanta, you likely need supplementation. In research, just 1000-2000 IU Vitamin D per day can improve blood levels, mood, and health outcomes (3).
2. Add Nature’s Best Stress Relief:  Dr. Colbert’s Nano-Science Hemp Oil! Hemp oil supports healthy, stable moods, promotes stress relief and normalized cortisol levels, supports comfortable, healthy joints, encourages healthy sleep habits, promotes healthy skin with fewer irregularities and blemishes, supports healthy brain and nervous system functions, and encourages healthy cardiovascular functions and normalized inflammatory actions (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
3. Begin your day with prayer, continuously pray through your day, and end it with gratitude to God. Staying tapped into God throughout the day is a great way to deal with our daily stressors.
4. Want more? Try our 9 Habits to Decrease Cortisol.

4. Savor the Experiences, People, and True Meaning of Christmas Rather than Unrealistic Expectations

One of the biggest joy-killers in life is unmet unrealistic expectations. In fact, they often make us miss the amazing experiences we are actually living since we are so focused on what “should be.”

How can you avoid this pitfall?

First, let go of the perfect Christmas images you may have from childhood memories, stories, or films. Then, set your expectations based on your own life, in the present tense, and on things you can control.

Take time to truly enjoy the people and experiences in your life. If needed, get out of your comfort zone and go to a new church service, charity or volunteer opportunity, club, or group to meet people.

Lastly, focus on the true meaning of the season, the birth of Jesus Christ!

5. Commit to Optimism About the Future

The holiday season is not the end. Instead of thinking of it as a time to quit on your healthy habits, use it as a springboard into the New Year instead. Not only will this attitude make your holiday season better, optimism is amazing for your mental, physical, and emotional health. In fact, it may just be the actual fountain of youth (10). What a great way to spring into another year!

Bottom Line

You can experience true Holiday Joy this year. While the holiday season can be rife with anxiety, use our simple habits to choose joy instead. Make sure to energize yourself daily, don’t allow yourself to become overscheduled, use healthy stress busters, savor people, experiences, and true Christmas meaning, and focus on optimism for the future. Christmas joy is here.