3 Quick Ways to Calm Down in Your Holiday Stress

The holidays can be wonderful. The time with family, the decorating, favorite foods, and traditions can create special and fun memories. But spending time with family, all the work, and disruptions in routine can be very stressful—especially when you’re hosting. Add into the mix balancing caring for your child with disabilities, and you can have a recipe for tense moments.

When the pots on the stove are boiling over, your child’s melting down, and your family member’s criticizing you, you need a quick way to decompress. Thankfully, you can try these 2-minute exercises to calm down and reset your emotions.

#1 Cleansing Breaths

You may not be able to escape from the room when you feel your emotional pressure cooker about to building.

But even standing where you are and simply taking five deep, cleansing breaths can lower your heartrate, clear your mind, and slow your breathing. When your brain and body relax, your emotions also calm down. This quick exercise can be very effective.

1. Close your eyes if you can.
2. Slowly inhale through your nose. Feel the air flow through your nose all the way down to filling your lungs.
3. Hold for three seconds.
4. Then, slowly exhale through your mouth like you’re breathing out through a straw.
5. Take a normal breath.
6. Then repeat the deep breathing exercise.
7. Do this a total of five times.
8. Open your eyes and notice how you’re feeling in your body now.
9. Smile.
10. Then go back to what you were doing.

#2 Observing with Your Senses

Sometimes you need to get out of the house for a couple of minutes even if just to your front porch or backyard.

Ask someone to watch your child, grab a coat, and walk outside.

1. Close your eyes and take one cleansing breath.
2. Then open your eyes and simply observe your surroundings with all of your senses.
3. What do you hear?
4. What do you smell?
5. What do you feel in your body?
6. What does it feel like to touch your surroundings?
7. When you feel calmer, take a deep breath, smile, and then head back in.

#3 Muscle Tension Release

When we become stressed, our brain gears up to fight or flight. Our muscles tense, our heartrate quickens, and our breathing can become faster and shallower.

But when we relax our muscles, our brains and emotions calm down. This is a simple exercise that can greatly calm your body, mind, and emotions. Ideally, you can steal away to a private room to complete this exercise. But if you are unable to leave where you are, just practice it where you’re standing. Depending on how much time you have, we’ve provided a 2-minute and a 5-minute version.

2-Minute Exercise

1. Take a deep cleansing breath.
2. Then, beginning at the top of your head, move down through your different muscle groups.
3. Tense each area of your body as tightly as you can for 5 seconds
4. Then quickly relax your muscles.
5. Head: Imagine a warm light lifting your head.
6. Face: Make a big smile. Hold it for 5 seconds, then drop your cheeks.
7. Shoulders: Tense your shoulders up to your chin. Hold for 5 seconds, then drop.
8. My favorite—“The Lemon Squeeze” Pretend you’re holding a lemon in your hand. Even better—get a lemon out of the fridge! Squeeze, squeeze hard for 5 seconds. Quickly drop the lemon. Repeat in your other hand.
9. Tense and release your arms, abs, upper and lower legs, and tense your toes like you’re squishing mud.
10. Take a slow, deep breath. Smile. Then go back to your day.

5-Minute Exercise

1. Steal away to a quiet room.
2. Lie down on the floor or on your bed.
3. Slowly practice the exercise above.
4. Then go back up from your feet all the back up to the top of your head.

Download our 1-sheet of quick coping strategies.

What helps you quickly calm down in stressful situations?

Share your ideas in the comments!

Holiday Blessings,

Todd and Kristin

*If at any time the exercises become uncomfortable, return to normal breathing and activity. The contents of this article are intended for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for seeking medical or professional mental health advice.

Todd Evans, MA, PhD & Kristin Faith Evans, MA, MS, LMSW

Todd and Kristin are celebrating twenty-one years of marriage and have two children with rare genetic disorders and complex needs. They’re passionate about empowering other parents of children with disabilities. They both earned their Masters in Christian Education at Wheaton College, co-receiving the Lois LeBar Award. They’ve served together in fulltime ministry in church, wilderness, adventure challenge, and retreat settings. Kristin is an award-winning author and a Licensed Masters Social Worker experienced in Christian, couples, child & family, and crisis counseling. They enjoy traveling and the outdoors together.