HOLIDAYS CAN BE GREAT FUN. THEY CAN ALSO BE HELL. Expectations and obligations can turn what’s supposed to be a season of celebration into a nightmare. To help sustain you, here are some things I’ve learned the hard way. Apply as needed:
SET BOUNDARIES. Block off time during the day for yourself. No matter what’s on your schedule – cooking for a group of 30, finalizing the year-end recap or next year’s budget, wrangling a household of relatives with adorable but exhausting toddlers – find a few minutes for yourself: Turn off your phone while you take a bath. Sip a cup of tea – very slowly. Say “No” to the party you really don’t want to go to. Hide under the stairs and read a book. (Kidding. Sort of.) It’s crucial to replenish yourself, otherwise you’ll be miserable, overworked, underslept … and may end up so depleted you land in the hospital with pneumonia. Which would make nobody happy – except perhaps your nemesis, and that’s a holiday present you don’t want to give.
Special Note for people with families that won’t take “No” for an answer (even more crucial if your family is large):
Read moreMere days into 2021 and we’re trying to process … horror. On January 6th, the president of the United States incited a mob of domestic terrorists to storm the Capitol, with the intention of stopping the certification of Joe Biden’s election win … and worse.
If 2020 was the Year of Relentless Heartbreak, what will 2021 be? I’m hoping it will be the year of justice. The year of confronting our country’s white supremacist past and the ways that past — still horrifically part of our present — poisons our society. The year of making substantive changes to ensure our democracy survives, and thrives.
Lately, the only way I can get to sleep is with this breathing technique (preceded, on occasion, with a glass of bourbon, or a lorazepam). It’s easy to learn and it’s surprisingly soothing. Let me know if you find it helpful.
Read moreSince 2020 has become the Year of Relentless Heartbreak, I wanted to share a quick anxiety-reducing technique that helps keep my stress levels from going through the roof: Box Breathing. I hope it helps you too.
Self-care can make an enormous difference in being able to handle the recurring drumbeat of horrible news without disintegrating into a puddle of tears. I can’t count how many times I’ve used Box Breathing in the past few months – literally cannot tell you the number. It’s wonderfully grounding and calming.
Box Breathing (sometimes called Square Breathing because of its four equal sides) is done by athletes, yoga practitioners, health practitioners, soldiers and everyday people to keep themselves calm and focused. Want to learn how?
Read moreWe’ve all heard the crack about how gyms (and their upscale siblings, “Fitness Centers”) make a fortune because of people who – with the best of intentions – sign up, but then give up. Most of us have fallen into the trap of setting sky-high New Year’s resolutions, only to find they’re too much to bear/impossible to fulfill. But New Years’ resolutions don’t have to be an exercise in frustration.
Read moreYOU KNOW THOSE REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES you drink from throughout the day? (You *are* drinking water throughout the day, right?) Here's why – and how – you want to wash them every night: Each time you drink from them, bacteria go into the bottle. (Eww) And they breed if you don't wash the bottle. (double Eww – triple Eww in flu season) SIMPLE SOLUTION: When you get home…
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