A Few Tips For the Holidays

Holidays 🎄🎁 are a wonderful time to be together, celebrate, and reminisce, but it can also be a hard time for those struggling with POTS or Long Covid.

You might compare your current holidays to prior ones when you were healthier. 🤔

Or you might worry about all of the activities and the toll they will take on your body. 😧

Or you might feel a level of grief, loneliness, or loss during this period. 😢

Here are some tips to make the holiday period a bit lighter and merrier:

1. Stick to your routine

Having a routine is super important, but it takes time to build a routine that incorporates the key aspects required to soothe the nervous system.

It's easy when you have guests and a lot is going for the routine to fall by the wayside. But at least keep one or two elements of your routine. What is most important to your health and makes the biggest impact?

2. Enjoy holiday-related activities

What do you enjoy the most about the holidays? Is it baking, spending time with loved ones, watching Christmas movies, or listening to holiday music? What activities do you love? Even if you don’t currently have the energy to do these activities as you used to, how can you modify them to, still, enjoy them?

3. Less is more

Being around people can be draining, and when you’re unwell your nervous system feels even more in a state of fight-or-flight. This is where learning to say “no” can help. How can you say “no” to more things? It's also a great practice for setting boundaries. How can you spend time with others while still taking care of yourself?

What part of the holidays are you looking forward to this year? Let me know in the comments.