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dress c/o (similar style) // knot mules // handbag c/o // sunglasses
Are you feeling blue now that the 4th of July is over? Do you find yourself playing Stars and Stripes Forever on repeat? Oh, that is just me…….Anywho, I always feel this way after a major holiday, like coming down from a high. I call this a holiday hangover, also known as the holiday blues. We spent weeks building up excitement for one particular day and when that day is over what is left for us to look forward to? Our next major holiday is not until Halloween. Luckily for me my birthday is in-between the 4th and Halloween, but as the years roll on turning older is not something to look forward to anymore. So how do we get over the holiday blues?
1. It’s ok to revel in post excitement: The holiday is over but it does not mean you have to stop celebrating. No you shouldn’t keep setting off fireworks or wear your Halloween costume post October, but who is to say you can’t watch a Christmas movie in July or listen to God Bless America in February? Revel in the holiday spirit for a decent amount of time afterwards. Keep wearing your red, white, and blue. This cute stripe dress is one that you could wear on the 4th and still wear for the rest of the summer. It’s ok to still be in a holiday mood.
2. Ease back into reality: Monday was tough. I needed a vacation from my vacation. There were a ton of emails waiting for me to be answered, contracts to sign, content to create, and more. I woke up Monday morning feeling a little stressed out, and to be honest, I wanted to crawl back to bed and pretend I was still on vacation. It may take a few days to get back into the swing of things and it’s best to ease into it. Remember that everyone is in the same boat, so not every email needs to be answered right away. Prioritize which ones are the most important, answer those first, and then get to the least urgent ones later. Create a to-do list and slowly work your way through it. Once organize your do-to list, things won’t seem as stressful.
3. Detox: You ate and drank like there was no tomorrow during the 4th. Good for you! But now you are regretting your choices. Don’t. You deserved to indulge and have that extra cupcake. Now that the holiday is over it is time to press the reset button on our bodies. Spend this week making healthier choices; you can do so by cooking a healthy meal at home every night, reach for the veggies instead of chips, drink plenty of water, and watch your sugar intake. You don’t have to go on some major elimination detox, all you have to do to reset your body is to eat clean and make healthy choices. Your will feel so much better once you start putting healthier foods into your body.
4. Start exercising: Spend this week sweating out all of the holiday drinks and BBQ. Schedule your lighter workouts in the beginning of the week. It’s better to ease back in, warm up your body, with low-impact workouts. Yoga is truly the best form of exercise to start off your week. This will prevent injury and get your body acquainted with exercising again. Once you start sweating you will feel much better.
5. Find something else to look forward to: The holidays are not the only joyous events in our lives, there are plenty of things to get excited about and look forward to. Maybe there is a vacation you are planning, the celebration of a wedding or birth, or simple having dinner with your friends. When you shift your focus to something positive you won’t long for the day you drank a little too many adult beverages while screaming USA. And if you can not find something to look forward to, as mentioned, my birthday is coming up.
6. Live in the moment: We spend so much time thinking about the future or thinking about the past we forget to live in the moment. When you stay present and truly enjoy what is happening around you, your holiday blues will start to fade away. Find little moments of joy in your day to day life; drinking your cup of coffee, binge watching Netflix, enjoying the sunshine on your face, reading your book, crossing off something on your to-do list, listening to music on your ride home from work. Look around and find something to be grateful for, something that brings you joy.
7. Take your time: There is no rush to get from 0 to 100. Our body went through something intense; the excitement of the holiday and all of the festivities surrounding it. It will take a few days to adjust, let yourself do so. Obviously don’t milk it, but know that you may not be at your 100% right away. And that is ok! Be nice to yourself and think good thoughts, you will be back to your old self in no time.