Make Your Holidays Magical (& ease seasonal anxiety) With These 4 Simple Tips ⋆ Earth and Water

Happy Holidays! This time of year is hard for a lot of people. Seasonal anxiety and depression creep in as the sun lessens it’s presence.

The holidays can be a good distraction though. They are known in media for their magic, after all. Snow blanketing everything, cozy fires in buffalo plaid and sweater blankets.

Everything’s decorated out the wazoo in cheer and everyone’s joyful to match it. (Except for Scrooge and the Grinch, but I think that was a people problem and not a holiday problem)

Sometimes though, it’s hard for us real people, in real life, with real problems to find or see the magic in the holidays. Sure, the food is great and it’s cozy enough but we often instead see stress, obligations, conflict and our hard earned savings account shrinking.

The days are getting shorter and shorter, the sun feels as though it’s contemplating abandoning us. Seasonal anxiety and depression are beginning to set in, you feel cooped up and all there is to do is eat.

The weather outside is frightful, but we can ease the tension to make the inside more delightful.

Diffuse Oils

Diffusing essential oils adds to the ambiance of the holidays, delights the olfactory system (directly tied to our emotions) and provides health benefits to yourself and guests!

The smells of the oils go directly to the amygdala, the emotion center of our brains. This is why they’re so effective in easing some emotional extremes. Essential oils can help us to calm those anxieties and stresses that get away from us and leave us frazzled.

They’re also a healthy alternative to chemical laden smell-goods that can irritate the respiratory system. We have enough toxins in our environment without adding these to the air. Essential oils are a great natural alternative!

Pick oils that have a holiday feel to them:

Wild Orange
Citrus Bliss
On Guard
Rosemary
Cedarwood
Cinnamon
Clove
Bergamot
Clary Sage
Sandalwood

You can use 3 drops of one oil or blend a couple together.

Have fun with it. You literally can not do it wrong. (Unless you use a ton. Don’t do that. Less is more and even though it’s not going to hurt anything, it’s hugely wasteful)

Plus, the vapors spewing out from the top of the diffuser is, in and of itself, magical.

Light candles

Candles also add to the cozy, homey, warm feeling of the home and holidays that can help us to stay grounded! Once again, though, there are tons of bad chemicals being released into the air with most commercial, fragrance filled candles.

I really don’t want to scare you away from everything fun in life. I just want you to be aware. I know it sucks that seemingly everything is bad for you. Finding out candles was one of those things broke my heart.

Some people are sensitive to these sorts of things. When fragrances give you headaches, stomach aches and weird feelings, it’s because you’re breathing in those toxins and your body’s trying to tell you it’s bad.

My grandmother hasn’t lit a candle in years because they do this to my Papa.

To get around harmful candles, go for:

Unscented
Naturally scented
Soy
Beeswax
Coconut wax
Vegetable wax
Essential oil scented
Rice wax
Wooden wicks

Avoid:

Chemical fragrances
Metal wicks
Paraffin wax

Most candles don’t include an ingredient list which can seemingly make things difficult. However, most candles that are healthy and good to go come from sources that are aware enough to mention somewhere on the label that it’s natural, “free of” or something of the like. If you feel sick after smelling it, toss it out. (Or, you know, dump the insides and reuse the glass for making your own)

Bring in Some Nature

The best, most magical decorations for the holidays are the ones that nature provides! I’m talking:

Pinecones
Poinsettas
Evergreens
Nuts of sorts
Leaves and pine needles
Sticks even!

In the winter, when it’s more difficult to get outside and connect to nature because everything’s dead and cold, bringing nature indoors to decorate can add some comfort!

Surrounding yourself with more of the earth element can help you to stay connected and grounded, thus, easing the effects of anxiety brought on by excess of the air element (Winter is Air energy).

Seasonal anxiety and depression is a real thing. When the days are shorter, sunlight is scarce and everyone’s cooped up inside for long stretches of time, it can be hard on the psyche. Bringing some life in the form of the elements can really help raise spirits! Especially the elements of earth and water. No pun intended.

Pinterest offers a whole host of ways to decorate with things you can find in your yard or local park.

Be sure to return the pieces back to the earth when you’re finished with them. Don’t toss them in the trash! That’s one of the best parts about these decorations. No clutter you have to store for the rest of the year! #Minimalism

Salt Lamps for Seasonal Anxiety

Salt lamps are another magical way to amp up the feel and vibe of the holidays! They have a warm, comforting glow that connects directly to our lower, physical chakras. Connecting us to the realm of the solid.

Salt lamps provide tons of extra benefits such as:

Cleansing the air
Turns positive ions (bad ions) into negative ions (Good ions)
Reducing asthma
Reduces electromagnetic radiation (Which can irritate anxiety)
Reduces airborne infectants
Eases allergy symptoms
Boosts mood
Promotes sleep (Which we’re not trying to put our guests to sleep usually but relaxing them is great!)
Eases stress and anxiety

I have at least one salt lamp in every room (My living room/office has 6) and one day I hope to have an entire salt room in my own wellness center! They’re wonderful! One of nature’s gifts!

Embrace the Holidays!

I have a theory that all of the major holidays landed in the time of year they did to provide a distraction from the cold, harsh, wintery season. This time of year is hard for many. Embrace the celebration of the holidays to make it easier.

I use to roll my eyes at the holidays. I was in no way, shape or form one of those festive people full of holiday cheer and what not. But that was ego.

I saw that there were more important things in the world than the materialistic shallow-ism that the holidays had turned into and wanted no part of it. They were nothing more than consumerism-dictated obligations full of stress for me.

Although this all may be true, they really are based in well meaning and positive roots. It’s up to us to bring it back from the dark side and back into the light which is where it was always meant to be.

Celebrate them the way they’re suppose to be celebrated. With togetherness, thankfulness, humbleness and giving.

Use this time to bring some joy and cheer to someone else’s life. It will cultivate a sense of community which will make that seasonal anxiety easier to cope with.

If you don’t have any gatherings to go to, host one!
Get a box of candy canes and hand them out! (Or some other, not wrapped in plastic treat)
Bake cookies and share them!
Make some DIY stuff to hand out as little gifts!
Kick start a secret santa or a group charity donation!

Doing good feels good and releases chemicals that can lower S.A.D.D.! Leave us a comment of other things we can do to ground ourselves, help others and make our holidays magical!

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