Whether you celebrate the Holiday Season or not, we can all agree that the stress of the season is creeping up earlier and earlier with each passing year.

And with Holiday parties at work, with friends, and family, it can be a challenge to hold space for yourself and your health, let alone assert it.

So what are some ways we can hold space for ourselves – mental, physical, and wellbeing – during this wonderful yet stressful time of year?

Here are pip‘s top ways to hold space for yourself any time of year, but especially around the Holidays. Call them rules of thumb, tips, or anything else that resonates with your health and what you need.

Be kind to yourself

Yes, you read that right. Be kind to yourself. This is rule and tip number one.

This goes hand in hand with all the other tips. It’s ok to eat the cookies. It’s ok to not eat the cookies. Whatever you chose to do, eat, drink, wear, etc. over the Holidays is ok. No one knows your body and health better than you (no matter what some people may try to make your believe). It’s a Season of joy after all. So if you want to eat cookies with Santa, then you should! Indulge in what makes you feel good, and say no to whatever you feel is right. At the end of the day, if you feel like you did or ate or drank (or whatever else) something that doesn’t agree with your health, don’t take it out on yourself. Be kind! We mean it!

Keep your routine as much as humanly possible

We know what you’re going to say: how can I possibly keep my routine when I’m traveling, having people over, eating seasonal foods, going to parties, etc.

To this, we say: it isn’t about sticking to your typical routine like glue. It’s more so keeping the 1 or 2 (or 3 or 4, you name the amount) things in your routine that ground you and keep your mental, physical and well-being health feeling good. It’s also about recognizing that maybe as much as humanly possible is not at all.

For example, if you find a key to your health is journaling before bed, going for a small walk every day, capping your caffeine intake to 1 cup a day, or even doing a nightly meditation/yoga flow for your pelvic floor disfunction, then try (key here is try) to incorporate this into your days, whether you’re at home, at family’s, or anywhere else.

Maybe keeping to this routine of sorts looks a bit different over the holidays, and you take your family or friends on the walk with you, or through seated breathwork. Or maybe your journaling moves to the mornings instead of evenings. Whatever it looks like (and however different it looks day-to-day over the snowy week or so we all lose track of days) is completely ok. If you aren’t able to do your routine at all, that’s ok too! Recognize your life looks a little different over the next few days, and remind yourself this isn’t a bad thing. Your routine will be there when you get back to the post-Holiday world.

Wear clothes that make you feel good

We’re not going to tell you not to wear the sweatpants to family Christmas if you’re in a flare. We’re also not going to tell you to not wear the floor-length evening gown to NYE. Whatever you wear, be it something that makes you feel good! That goes two ways: physically for your body and chronic illness needs for the day, and also good in your body and how it makes you feel!

We know, not everyone feels sexy or beautiful wearing baggy sweatpants, but hey – if they are what will make you feel good during a flare at Great Aunt Debbie’s house, then rock them! Also, pack them if you’re traveling. So many of our chronic illnesses flare when we least expect it, so you never know when you could use the sweatpants (or whatever your equivalent may be).

Take breaks if you need them

You don’t have to be chronically ill to agree that sometimes the Holidays can feel super overstimulating. Even when you are with your closest loved ones you can feel overwhelmed by the time of year. Add a chronic illness on top and you have a recipe for a perfect storm.

Don’t underestimate the extended washroom visit. It may not be a sanctuary of zen, but hey, it’s sometimes the closest you can get. If you’re able to scope out a room that is quiet, dark if you need it to be, has access to electricity for a plug in heat pack, or whatever else you may need, then feel free to stake a claim there and use it when you feel necessary.

You don’t have to tell people that’s what you’re doing, or where you’re going, but also don’t feel embarrassed to tell them. Go into the nitty details of what you’re experiencing, or don’t. Whatever you do, know you are able to take a break from it all to attend to your health in every which way.