Menopause Tips – How to Thrive in the Holidays, #12 BE THANKFUL & ENJOY YOURSELF
Be thankful and enjoy yourself! Keeping your life under control while experiencing poor sleep, memory problems, hot flashes, fatigue, mood swings, and other unpleasant menopause challenges is hard enough. Add to that the stress and “must dos” of the Holiday season and you may want to get under the bed and resurface on December 26th, or go on a vacation by yourself.
I’ve been there! But I’ve learned some useful strategies not only to survive but also to thrive and enjoy the holidays that I want to share with you:
Menopause Tips – How to Thrive in the Holidays
#12 BE THANKFUL & ENJOY YOURSELF
There’s a lot of pressure for us to be happy during the holiday season and for some it’s when we feel less so. In midlife we may have lost loved ones or have loved ones away, unable to join us.
Sometimes it is the way we see things, it is our attitude. As Hamlet put it, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”. And not everything is bad at the same time, so let’s find the positive and what’s good in our lives during the holidays and always, and cultivate a positive attitude. I’m sad because my older son is in Vancouver and won’t be coming home for the holidays for the first time but I’m happy that he’s healthy and when we meet again we’ll celebrate Christmas then!
Gratitude is in fashion and that’s for a good reason. There are so many things to be grateful for and in our busy lives we forget about them and forget to be grateful for them.
I found this article “Giving thanks can make you happier” on the Harvard Medical School website. It reads “The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible.
With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
People feel and express gratitude in multiple ways.
They can apply it to the past (retrieving positive memories and being thankful for elements of childhood or past blessings), the present (not taking good fortune for granted as it comes), and the future (maintaining a hopeful and optimistic attitude). Regardless of the inherent or current level of someone’s gratitude, it’s a quality that individuals can successfully cultivate further”.
I hope it helps you be grateful and happier.
Happy holidays to you and your loved ones!
If you missed the earlier tips (or just want to read them again), you can find them on my blog:
#1 MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER DURING THE HOLIDAYS (and afterwards)
#2 PLAN AHEAD, #3 KEEP IT SIMPLE
#6, #7, & #8 – ASK FOR HELP AND BE MINDFUL!
#11 BE KIND TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS
Teresa Isabel Dias is a pharmacist and Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) who provides education and support on symptom management for women at work and at home so they’ll feel like themselves again and enjoy a vibrant and productive life.
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