Minimizing stress with a TBI is crucial- Here are 5 ways to achieve mindfulness during the holidays:

1. Bundle up and go on mindfulness walks. Focus on your 5 senses and note what you observe. You may come across a friendly chickadee or dark eye junco. Focusing on the sound of your crunching footsteps may help achieve mindfulness when holiday thoughts creep in. Winter has a scent, so does fresh snow- it can be invigorating! When was the last time you walked around your neighborhood? Or took a winter stroll in your favorite park?
2. Having a TBI and facing the holidays is overwhelming (holidays are overwhelming without one right?) Pick one holiday tradition to focus on think how you would like to execute it. For many baking huge batches of holiday cookies is a tradition. Will you need help? Will some aspects need to be delegated (shopping for ingredients)? What ever your tradition is, it will feel and manifest differently than past holidays.
3. Practice letting go- recall a minor issue or event within the past 48 hours. Have you let it go? Does it feel sticky? If so, next imagine wind, fire, water and earth. Pick one element. Now, try to imagine the issue being handled by one of these elements. Wind is an easy meditation for me, I like to imagine the issue blowing away. This takes practice!
4. Practice acceptance. There is freedom in relinquishing control and accepting things as they are. Again, select a small issue to accept. There are so many to choose from when you have a TBI. A big one for me is having to accept has been walking is exercise (BTBI I was a runner and frequently went to Zumba and Insanity classes).
5. Most importantly, BREATHE. Breathing has long been associated with healing and activating our pare-sympathetic nervous (PNS) system (we want to be hanging out with our PSN!). To learn more please check out this blog post from HealthVibed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! What helps you be mindful during the holidays?

-I am a therapist in Anchorage, Alaska. You can learn more about me at my website.