They’re back! Those holly jolly (maybe not) holidays with all sorts of feelings, stresses, emotions and more stresses that we’ve been holding on to and sucking in and stuffing way, way, way down. And literally making ourselves physically sick over all the things we should be doing now more than ever for everyone else.
How about thriving and enjoying this most wonderful time of the year? It’s your choice to work on changing and you can get there with a lot of daily adult supervision from your therapeutic writing journal.
Here’s a 4 Day Plan for giving up the Ghosts of Christmas Past:
Day 1. Dump the Data
Open up your Journal (be it a spiral notebook, three ring binder full of blank sheets, whatever) and date it as you always do. Just start writing and writing and writing about all the things you hate about the holidays, what you can’t stand, all the negatives. Name names, places and dates. Just write and write and write. When you’ve unloaded everything, close your Journal and walk away. Do this exercise today as many times as you feel like it. Then sleep on it.
Day 2. Address the Stress
The next day, revisit your Data Dump entries. Read them if you like, in silence or aloud. Or just set with your Journal for a spell. Or write about the experience and/or what’s transpired in your inner life since the previous day. Your choice…whatever feels best for You. Then get specific about the holiday stress triggers. Maybe it’s the Christmas Eve family gathering you go to every year which you can’t stand because… or maybe you are tired of giving gifts to _________ for no reason at all. Make a list of all the triggers and pick one that you want to do something about this year. Take a clean sheet, put tomorrow’s date on it and add the question: What do I want to do about ______? Try tearing out the sheet of paper and putting it under your pillow. Sleep on it.
Day 3. Produce a Plan
Take your stressful significant emotional event and set a goal for like “I will go to Aunt Sallie’s Christmas Eve party and enjoy myself” or “this Christmas Eve I will stay home and watch “Miracle on 34th Street” or “Nightmare on Elm Street” with or without champagne and dark chocolate. Work with your therapeutic writing Journal and write, write, write. How do you need to change your thoughts, your speech patterns, how will you tell Aunt Sallie “thanks but no thanks”? Ask your Inner Coach to help you devise a game action plan.
Day 4. Act the Part
Start making the changes in your thoughts and your behavior. Use your Journal to chart your progress, work up plan B, C, D… and vent your frustrations that your desired results are not instantaneous. Send your Inner Critic on a cruise around the world. Talk kindly and compassionately to yourself. It’s Christmas time, remember?
What were your results? What did You add or subtract from the recipe? Please let us know how You changed your holiday woes into Ho! Ho! Ho!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bring some Mari Christmas songs into your life write now!
Leave Comment