The festive break is meant to be a time to relax and unwind, right? But following a couple of years of unwanted Covid-shaped stocking fillers, high expectations of Christmas 2022 may add extra pressure for many of us. Stressors such as social anxiety from resumed work parties, economic uncertainty and the cost of living crisis, can be a lot to deal with - all while trying to get everything off our desks before the end of the year.

So amongst all of this, how can you maintain your sense of calm, and, if not peace on earth, then at least in your mind, this Christmas? 

Try these mindfulness tips for the festive season (and beyond):

1. Give yourself the gift of morning meditation 

Do you reach for your work emails on your phone as soon as you wake up? Before you do anything, start your day with 5 minutes of meditation. Use an app, such as Insight Timer (free), which has guided morning meditations, or simply gently close your eyes, relax your jaw and focus on the...

People often ask us for ways to help them feel better during the day.  While the answer can seem complicated and involve a deep analysis of ones nutritional habits, sleep routine, exercise program, in fact it is often better just to pause and take a look at our thoughts. 

Let’s look at the premise that, if you can conceive it, you can achieve it.  On the surface that seems like a good thing, however what if we only conceive negative emotions and thoughts, what then?  It leads to worry and anxiety.

If we break down the word, worry, in a little more detail we can start to identify what we are worried about:

1. Things that can’t be changed - past events
2. Things that will never happen - future events
3. Illogical deductive reasoning - wrong conclusions
4. Petty miscellaneous things - did I leave the iron on?
5. Real worries that we can’t do anything about - outside of your control
6. Real worries that we might be able to do something about - maybe able to control...

 Covid has disrupted families, broken hearts and affected minds and with the latest statistics on mental health just emerging, what do we see? According to Eddie Hawthorne, the chief executive of Arnold Clarke (a large car retail group) “mental health concerns have hit the roof”. Combine this with the latest from the University of Glasgow who found that lockdown had a major escalation in suicidal thoughts, depression, loneliness and self-harm and one can see that as we tighten up restrictions again, the resilience of our mental health is once again being put under fire.

Over the past few months, mental health teams have reported that patients with existing mental health conditions have suffered from significant relapses in their conditions and most surprisingly, people with no known mental health issues have presented in acute crisis.  

There’s no definitive reason why some took lockdown like a beach holiday and others felt as though they were...