I’m not sure what it is about November, but it just seems to be a hard month for people. Like clockwork, our referrals go through the roof this time of the year. Perhaps it’s the waning daylight, or the cold, perhaps students (school-aged and university alike) are just far enough into the year that the inspired feeling and new book smell has faded, perhaps it’s the pending stress of the Christmas season- trying to sort out plans with family, the prospect of facing Christmas with a loved one gone, or worrying about the practical costs of the whole thing. And I don’t know about you, but it just seems like there’s a lot of really tough stuff happening in people’s lives right now. Whatever the case may be, November just seems to test a lot of folks.

If you’re like many of us struggling with the November blues, we’ve got a few tips to get you through this time of year:

Tip 1: Gratitude

If you haven’t started a gratitude journal or practice of some kind, it’s time.Brené Brown, one of our professional crushes, found in her research that gratitude is the pre-requisite, as in, it is required , to feel and experience joy in our lives. With brains hardwired to focus on the bad, we must actively pay attention and shift our focus to the million miracles happening in our life every day. Your gratitude practice needs to be intentional, and it needs to be daily.

Tip 2: Do something different

If hiding out and isolating is what you’ve been doing, pick yourself up off that couch and engage in a different type of activity. Dance. Write. Listen to music. Learn to knit. Find something to laugh at (my personal favorite is Jimmy Fallon lip sync battles). Take yourself out for a walk. Make a coffee date with friends. This act of getting moving can drastically change your mood. If, on the other hand, you’ve been ignoring the warning cries of your and body pushing yourself too hard, slow down. Give yourself permission to cocoon up for a night or for the weekend. Drink that tea. Read that book. Binge that show.

Tip 3: Practice self-compassion

When feeling the blues, it is often a result of our inner critic trying to convince us that we are not worthy or deserving, calling us lazy or stupid or all sorts of painful things. Practice speaking kindly to yourself, as kind as you would to a friend or your children. Same goes for anxiety. Take a deep breath and let it know you’re safe and capable. Breathe. Be gentle with yourself.

Tip 4: Get those boundaries in place

What do you want or need to get the most out of this Christmas season? What does your budget look like? Whose company do you need to limit? Let that “people pleasing” part of you know that it’s not only okay, but necessary for you to take care of yourself. You have a right to a magical (or at the very least, one with as little stress as possible) holiday season too.

Tip 5: Speaking of stress- get a handle on it

Several great time-management ideas came my way after watching a Ted Talk by Rory Vaden. Are there things in your life you can automate (automatic billing, online grocery shopping), or strategies you can implement to add more hours in your life such as delegating tasks or checking your emails less frequently? Be mindful of procrastination and set an intention to work your way through that to-do list. This will help life feel a lot less overwhelming and will have you back-patting yourself for your daily accomplishments. If other life stress has got your blood pressure up, go back to basics: water, nutrition, sleep, exercise, breathe. One day at a time.

Tip 6: This too shall pass.

Remind yourself of that. This too shall pass. Different seasons of life, just like seasons of the year, inevitably come and go. If nothing else, know that you are not alone.

As always, wishing you peace,

Christina