Self-Care and Self-Compassion During the Holidays

Self-care is an essential skill that refers to activities or practices that an individual engages in routinely to reduce stress and improve our health/well-being. Our self-care practices can be important to examine during the holidays, as although the holidays can be an enjoyable time of the year, they can also be a stressful time, personally and professionally.

Ways to Promote Self-Care and Reduce Stress this Holiday Season

As individuals with many roles: healthcare provider, family member, friend, or caregiver, we often find ourselves busy caring for others and may not always focus on making time to care for our own needs. With the stress of the holidays upon us, it is important to look for ways to care for ourselves. The first step in this process could be to create a self-care plan. See guides for creating a self care plan:

• Mental Health First Aid COVID-19 Self-Care & Resilience Guide (The Mental Health Commission of Canada)
• Developing your Self Care Plan (University at Buffalo)
• Coping with Holiday Stress (CAMH) – Effective strategies to reduce stress during the holidays include:
  • Reframing stressors
  • Making time for yourself
  • Practicing relaxation techniques
  • Practicing good sleep hygiene

Self-Compassion During the Holidays

Self-compassion is being kind to yourself when you are feeling inadequate or experiencing distress. Similar to self-care, self-compassion is an essential skill that has many benefits including stress reduction and improved quality of life. Some strategies to be more self-compassionate this holiday season include:

• Identify and express your feelings
• Accept and validate your feelings
• Tell yourself the same thing you’d say to comfort others For more information or exercises on self-compassion visit these resources:
  • eMental Health
  • Greater Good in Action Self Compassion Activities
  • National Council for Behavioral Health
  • Self-Compassion

Sources

• https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/
• https://www.camh.ca/en/
• https://www.ementalhealth.ca/
• https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/
• https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/
• http://www.buffalo.edu/
• https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/
• https://self-compassion.org/
• https://www.mhfa.ca

Waterloo Wellington Resource for Health Care Workers:

• Grief, Mental Health and Addiction Services for Healthcare Workers

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