How to Protect Your Heart During the Holidays

What is the most stressed part of your body during holiday gatherings?

At first response you may say stomach. As we delve deeper the most active or stressed organs during these gatherings is our heart and mind. That’s why it’s so important to plan with the diligence what we are going to: say, do and feel during these intimate interactions. This gives us power to consciously turn to what our hearts and minds truly desire in a pinch, because today I'm here to help you make a specific meausrable plan of how you want feel and say with ease during the holidays. This will help you be a catalyst for healthy, enjoyable, positive, healing conversations.

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Imagine planning a spiritual meal or dietary guidelines of what we are going to give and receive from and for our hearts. Just as it is an effect tool to have a calorie, healthy food chart to help balance food intake, consider the following article as tool to create a effective communication and interaction "meal plan" for nutritious, satisfying, life giving and health enhancing conversations. 

 

Here’s how to plan:
“Heart Connections During The Holidays - What to Say, Feel and Love”

The following may help you save on stress and therapy and experience more of the love of your family and co-workers you desire.

As upcoming holiday events approach, anxiety and tension may rises with the stress of bringing biological or work family members together.

Old wounds have a way of surfacing and the tendency is to slip back into old family dynamics playing the roles assigned at childhood or in a less than satisfying work environment.

If there has been a loss in the family or a rift in the communication there are specific ways to prepare for conversations that will gently guide you into supportive territory of:

• Forgiveness
• Mutual respect
• Rekindled interest
• Support
• Closeness
• Patience
• Understanding
• Kindness
• Love

that may have been missing from previous encounters.

Where do you begin?

Take stock on what causes the tension and fear being in the room with these challenging people or issues.

Pretend Examples. (Maybe you can relate.)

Tweak them to fit your situation:

-I feel stressed around my sister when she talks about the recent passing of Pop Pop. 
-My cousin Carly upset me last time when she criticized my parenting.
-Jamie had the worst choice of inappropriate dates the last few company galas.

-This person pressed my buttons and I reacted in a way that sucked joy out of the room

STEP 1- Identify who or what presses your buttons and what you wish you could avoid at the next gathering.

1) Jot down the person’s name and conversation(s) you dread discussing.

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2) Why are you afraid to discuss this?

3) How would you feel if this conversation never was discussed?

5) How would you feel if this person didn’t come to the event?