Have yourself a Mindful Little Christmas

It’s that time of year again!! A time for enjoyment and celebration,

Or is it a time of frayed nerves and emotional anxiety?? Shops full of furrowed brows battling their way through the mad rush of last minute shopping like a scene from Ben Hurr with baubles! What presents to get? How much to spend? How much will be spent on me? Dilemma, dilemma!!!!

Clearing the shelves of the local supermarket as if Armageddon is imminent (after all they are shut for a WHOLE day!). The inevitable family conflict, overeating, overindulging, followed by the post-Christmas period slump of “I’ve eaten too much” self-loathing

“So this is Christmas……….” The modern Christmas is, without doubt a very stressful time for many people, but does it need to be so??

Research has shown that it’s not ‘Christmas’ that makes us happy – it’s more about what we bring to the festive period. When we get caught up in the Christmas merry go round of doing too much, getting anxious about having everything being just right, making sure everyone else is happy…….. we become stressed and unable to relax and enjoy ourselves.                         

But, if we slow down a little, allow ourselves a little breathing space and actually take in and enjoy what we are doing as we are doing it, we increase activity in the parts of our brain associated with positive emotion and decrease the activity in the areas associated with depression and rumination.

Over the Christmas period, whatever you are doing just stop, take a breath and look around you for a moment.  Be fully aware of what you can see, hear, smell, touch, taste. Immerse yourself in “now” for a few minutes. ​

Don’t let Christmas pass you by, find 5 minutes twice a day to slow down and appreciate your Christmas.

Mark Campion will return in Spring of 2018 for a new 8 week mindfulness course. To join us the for introduction session please email info@thewellretreat.co.uk