What Is Professional Christmas Anxiety?
For many people, the mere occurrence of Christmas is anxiety-provoking in itself. But when you work in a professional environment, those pressures are often magnified.
Tensions seem to run high in the leadup to the Christmas break. There's an intensity from employers to tie up loose ends, complete projects, and a stream of tasks to work through before going on holiday.
It's also a festive time with the additional pressures of morning teas and lunches to fit in, adding to the time pressure.
As an employee, you push yourself to meet unrealistic deadlines, berate yourself for not coping, and dial-up that anxiety in the workplace.
Of course, there are also additional layers of stress to deal with outside the workplace. Before you know it, your heart is racing, and it feels like you can't stop the constant noise whirling around inside your mind.
Rethinking Christmas Anxiety In The Workplace
In the last few years, there has been a shift by many organisations to focus more on wellness and wellbeing. However, the pre-Christmas rush seems to be embedded in many workplace cultures.
But does it really need to be?
As a society, we've been taught to tie up loose ends before the end of the year. While it's a noble concept, do we really need to stress our employees out at all?
Research tells us that stress lowers productivity and morale, resulting in more sick days and higher staff turnover. With just a few tweaks and a mindset change, employers could make life easier for their employees during the festive season. Instead of the pressure, provide them with the space, time, and tools they need to survive this hectic time of year and return to work refreshed and motivated.
How to Release Christmas Anxiety
Whether you are an employer looking for ways to support your employees or need some coping strategies yourself, there are many ways to release anxiety and decrease your stress levels at any time of year.
Let's look at some of the best...
Cultivate Mindfulness
Mindfulness training can reduce stress, help us be more positive, and cope with what life throws our way. Mindfulness is about bringing your attention to the present moment and not worrying about the future or ruminating on the past. If you find yourself carried away by your thoughts, come back to the task at hand and focus on that. Using your breath is also a great way to ground your mind in the present.
Practice Self-Care
This may seem like a no-brainer, but when we feel overwhelmed, we often neglect the most basic of self-care concepts. Ensure you get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, and eat healthily (in moderation, of course – it is Christmas, after all!). Exercise is also a fantastic way to alleviate the triggers for depression and anxiety.
Let Things Go
Will it really be a major drama if you leave a report until next year or put a project on hold? If your to-do list feels overwhelming, ask yourself if every item is that important. What's the worst that can happen if the timeline is extended? Is it truly urgent, or are you putting unnecessary pressure on yourself?
Return To Your Breath
Connecting to your breath is one of the most effective ways of calming your body and mind – and it's completely free. Spare a few minutes several times a day to breath into your belly slowly and deeply for a count of four; hold for a count of four; then exhale slowly to a count of four.
After three or four rounds, your body will be feeling calmer, and you will find there's a little more space in your mind.
Hypnosis
Sometimes we need a little help to rein in our thoughts or alter our behavioural patterns. Hypnosis is an excellent way to access your subconscious mind and modify your habits, behaviours or routines. It can help you get out of the stress mindset and assist you to be more productive, motivated, and confident at work, or specifically tackle a fear, phobia or habit you want to drop or improve on!
If the pressure of Professional Christmas Anxiety is starting to build and you are feeling anxious, transformation coaching may just be the thing to help you hit the New Year feeling energised and excited rather than worn out and strung out!
Contact me today to see how I can help support, guide and inspire you to ditch the overwhelm and start the new year in a powerful way.
Sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.
Whether you're a business owner wanting to take your business to the next level or a professional woman who needs help, take your next step forward. If you feel like you need extra support in making these changes, don't hesitate to reach out. Book in a time to chat with Hana or follow her on: Facebook Instagram or LinkedIn
Today I thought I'd get up close and personal with you and share a little bit about my weight loss journey.
About 15 years ago, I experienced some trauma in my life. In my attempt to cope with the trauma I would put things in a little box and push them to one side, then pretend they didn't happen, because then I didn't have to deal with them.
With this particular event though, I didn't have a choice. I had to deal with it and the overwhelming sense of emotions in created. I experienced sadness and hurt and humiliation and embarrassment and shame and guilt. A whole plethora of emotions, just bubbled up to the top.
And instead of seeking support to deal with those things, I tried to push them down, ignore them, but I couldn't really ignore them. So instead I started to “eat my emotions”. When I experienced sadness, I might eat a chocolate bar. When I experienced humiliation or guilt or shame, I might have a cake or a cookie. And though it's okay if you do that occasionally, I was doing it every single day.
So I went from a curvaceous size 12, to this plump round pudding size 22.
It didn't happen overnight. It took months for me to go from size 12 to 22. And it was the most embarrassing time of my life when:
- I hit size 22.
- I found I couldn't shop in mainstream shops because the clothes just didn't fit me anymore.
- I was dressing probably 10 to 15 years older than what I actually was.
- I was embarrassed, but not embarrassed enough to stop the behavior.
- I became a classic binge eater.
I would have a pile of cookies, cakes, chocolate bars, and I would eat them all. And then I would feel nauseated. For most people when they get their full signal, they stop. But I didn't, I kept going.
I kept buying those foods, knowing that they weren't serving me. And I hid them in the cupboard, so that I could secretly eat them. Hiding food and eating in secret are big indicators that something needs to change.
At size 22 and over 100kgs on a 5'2 frame, I was really a dumpling and I didn't feel great. I lacked energy. I was so embarrassed that I didn't like to go out and socialise anymore.
My husband used to do the grocery shopping because I just didn't get any enjoyment out of it. He would buy me the things that I asked for because he loved me, but it wasn't helping my problem. And when he wanted to steer me in the right direction and say things like things like “hey babe, do you think it's a really good idea to eat that chocolate bar?”, I got stroppy and thought “I'll have two” because that gave me a false sense of control. But it only controlled me and it made my weight increase.
(My poor husband was trying to help me, but I took everything the wrong way. I wanted to be in control of me – but was failing miserably.)
I finally got to a point where I started to feel the pain of being overweight and I wanted to do something about it. So I tried and I tried diet, after diet, after diet. I went on weight loss programs that cost a lot of money.
I never really pursued exercise as a key way to lose weight, mainly because I didn't enjoy exercise. In fact, I used to say, “I hate it”.
So what did I do? The first thing that I did was, to reduce the amount of meals per day that I was consuming. I already knew that eating three meals a day was better than me grazing all day. And I also knew that 80% of my problem was what I was consuming and putting in my mouth and that had to stop.
So I started to become aware of the foods that I was eating. And I started to slow down on those foods. So where I used to eat two bars, I dropped it down to one bar and then I dropped it down to half a bar, zero bars. I weaned myself off those foods over a period of time. So over a space of 18 months, I lost more than 30 kilos. And I predominantly did that by the things that I ate. I'm not a fan of depriving myself of different food types. I'm about balance and what works for my body, nobody else's body.
Next I introduced exercise. Honestly a year ago, I couldn't even do five minutes on a cross trainer. I remember talking to a fitness coach I'd hired , crying down the phone to him saying “this is ridiculous. It takes me more freaking time to put my clothes on and take them off to get on a machine that I can't even do five minutes”. And he said to me, “Hana, five minutes is better than no minutes. You've got to start somewhere hun”.
Today I can do 45 minutes on that cross trainer because I’ve added a little more time each day. And now I have to say, I actually really enjoy exercise. I love how it makes my body feel. I love that it gives me more energy and I feel less stress.
Why am I sharing my story with you? Because I spent heaps of time, thousands of dollars on my weight loss journey – but you don’t need to do the same.
Many people try different diets and programs but each one comes at a cost. You can continue to yoyo, so your weight goes up and down continually, never settling and staying at a healthy point. But the smarter way that I have found to do it successfully is with hypnosis.
I facilitate Sheila Granger's Virtual Gastric Band program. That's where you believe that we've put a band around your tummy and we've shrunk your tummy. So you can no longer eat as much food as you used to eat.
I also do another weight loss program where we deal with the emotions that actually got you to where you are. We deal with the root cause of the issue. And then I educate you to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way. Either way works to lose weight.
It's all about what got you to where you are. And that isn't going to get you to where you want to be! You have to do something different. That's why I trained to learn Sheila Granger's weight loss technique to help you get to where you want to be in a faster, easier, effortless way.
- You don't have to spend thousands.
- You don't have to eat certain types of foods and
- You don't have to do hardcore exercise.
- Everything is about moderation.
Sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.
Whether you're a business owner wanting to take your business to the next level or a professional woman who needs help, take your next step forward. If you feel like you need extra support in making these changes, don't hesitate to reach out. Book in a time to chat with Hana or follow her on: Facebook Instagram or LinkedIn
The current pandemic has certainly changed the we live our everyday lives.
It has affected many of our daily routines, and one of its biggest reported impacts has been that on sleep - sleep becomes more elusive when we are anxious.
Many people are suffering sleep issues for the first time in their lives:
- awake for long periods
- unable to fall asleep at all
- wake up several times during the night
- more intense and emotional dreams
- tired and groggy the next morning
- find it difficult to concentrate or function properly
- feel irritable
Having good sleep strategies will help you sleep well and can limit the negative effects of poor sleep.
Try these FIVE hints for calmer and better sleep.
1. Limit news intake and avoid your mobiles and tablets for at least an hour before bed
Do something to boost your mood before bed - a humorous television programme or an uplifting podcast can help you sleep
2. Have structure to your day
Our brains and bodies love structure. Wake, exercise, eat and sleep at similar times each day
3. Focus on your breathing
Think about resting rather than sleeping. Follow your breathing by silently whispering the words ‘in’ and ‘out’ to induce sleep.
4. Learn to relax
Relaxation can switch off the stress response, physically and mentally. Find something that works for you - mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing or a long hot bath.
5. If you can’t sleep - get out of bed
Your bed should not be a battleground. Instead, try to enjoy the sensation of merely resting.
Hypnosis can help many forms of sleep issues and insomnia.
If you are not sleeping well, and traditional treatments are not working, hypnosis may be able to help you sleep the way you deserve.
It uses different approaches to induce relaxation, such as focused attention, symptom control and guided imagery.
And, unlike sleep medications, it has no side effects, so it can be an aid for those who can’t or don’t want to take sleeping pills.
It can help overcome bedtime restlessness - ease the worry, tension and anxiety that prevent sleep - and can show the way to the deep, restorative sleep that we all need.
If you need extra support please reach out, all sessions take place via zoom, so you can choose your surroundings, from a private office to the couch or anything in between. The most important thing is that you are comfortable, warm, hydrated, and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.
