Llama Tips To Cope With Christmas Stress And A Late But Great Reveal Of My Christmas Crochet

Jelly Llama
Nov 23, 2019
6 min read

Hey Fama Llamas

Hope you are all well and are having a wonderful winter season.

Its coming up to the Christmas season and I know it can be very stressful fitting in school, college, work and Home with all the things we need to do to enjoy the Festive Season.

Over the last few years I have struggled with some Anxiety and Stress , just like we all do at certain times in our Life. It is normal to sometimes struggle with things and stay calm in a busy World. It is always good to ask for help if you need it at these times but also find ways to distract yourself and relax until you find your confidence again. I have found some tricks to help me relax and feel a little bit better in this stressful world , so before the activity of the Party Season takes over and starts to wear you out I thought I would share them with you.

Top five llama relaxing tricks.

ONE

Think Positive .

I know everyone says this when you are stressed or worried , and sometimes it can make you feel a little grumpy when you are sad about something but its absolutely true.

Its called Anxiety Reappraisal , the chemical that fills you with Excitement or Anxiety is similar.

So, when you are Nervous you think of the exciting or positive side of what you are doing. You picture things in the Future and visualise the good things that will come after your hard tasks and it can slowly turn that anxiety chemical into a positive feeling after all.

So when your are next in a car or plane think of the place you are going or who you are going to be seeing and what you are going to be doing for Fun or Relaxation once you get there and it should help if you don't like travelling.

If you have a Stressful or Sad thing to do , try and find the positive things about it , what you will gain from doing it , or think of happy memories of a person or place that you can keep forever , if you are leaving home or moving house . My Mum calls it , ' Searching out the Silver Linings' , and finding them helps you relax. There is always one somewhere you just have to look a bit harder sometimes.

TWO

Divert your Mind

Make A Film Playlist , or watch a box set of your favourite TV programmes and take a little Me time, when things are Stressful, you need more rest to pick yourself up again. You can share the time with Family and Special Friends and help them relax too.

When I’m stressed I like to watch a film to relax.

I have a few favourite films that help me relax and help me open my mind again to think through my problems.

The great thing about this list is that the films don’t have to be "good " or " trendsetting" , you aren't looking for Oscars , you are looking for laughs and smiles , so , all they have to be " good for you" to make you a little happier and help relax your mind. I love Chick Flicks , SciFi , Comedy and Musicals but I know lots of people love a film that makes then shed a tear.

Here are a few of my favourites when I need to cheer myself up .

Little Miss Sunshine

The Twilight Saga (i know , they make me happy )

Tangled

Footloose

Spider man

Glee

THREE

Remind your Mind to be Happy with Music

Make a Happy Playlist.

Just like the films there are those few bands or songs that will just bring a big smile to your face so put them all together and you will have a Happy playlist. This will boost your mood , make you relax and then build your Mental Batteries back up , especially if the Music has Memories attached or gets your feet moving.

The great way to use this is to have it downloaded to your phone so if you are stressed or feeling down anywhere , at work , in the Car , or before a test , when you are far away from Home you can just plug in your headphones and shut the world out for a few minutes , in moments , with your eyes closed and breathing in time with the music you can find your Happy Place.

I have so much variety of Music on my playlist I haven't added a collection but I love Coldplay , Musicals, The Ukulele Band of Great Britain , Ed Sheeran , and lots of folk and 80's Music too.

FOUR

Let the Stress Out

Make a Stress Reliever Bag

I always have those few things in my bag with me to help me when I'm out of the house and need to give myself a quick bit of TLC. If you can do something to relax in the moment that Stress is happening it won't hang around with you all day.

You could put anything in this bag, things to help you breathe and use your senses to help you feel Calm again, but here are a few suggestions that I have in my bag.

Sugar Free Chewing gum or mints , sometimes distracting yourself with flavour and slowly chewing relaxes your breathing. Peppermint helps refresh you and wake your mind up to creative things.

Deodorant and a nice fragrance spray (because you don’t want to be worrying about your armpits as well) and a Smell that you love helps to remind you of being relaxed .

A hairband . Something to fiddle with that will distract your thoughts . You don't have to wear it in your hair , you can put it on your wrist and lightly twang it or play with it in your fingers until your Brain has stopped racing and can think again.

Hand cream , even for the boys!! Massage a little hand cream into your fingers , as well as being good for your skin the touch relaxes your fingers and your mind and calms your body too. Things like Lavender and Camomile are calming . Aromatherapy and Massage on the go!

Headphones for that all important playlist

A Healthy snack and a Bottle of Water .

Sometimes when we are Anxious a sip of cold water helps calm you down , it's actually a Science thing.

Eating a snack takes the body from the Active mode to Rest and Digest and gives you a serotonin boost.

FIVE

Food for Thought

The worse thing to be is hungry and thirsty when you are stressed .

It can also make your Stress worse because if you haven’t had a proper meal or a healthy snack you will lose Energy , get dehydrated and you will get tired.

So grab yourself something and take a minute for yourself to have a healthy meal , snack or drink of water or a warm drink.

Don't race you food at snack or lunchtime , enjoy it , let your mind wander into happy places while you eat , and take a moment to look at the view. Even if you have lots to do , a little relaxation will give you more energy to keep going.

Eat something that you enjoy but not all junk . Feed your mind and your Soul . If you want a surprisingly tasty snack go to my Kale Chips Recipe , and be you'll shocked you may even learn to love your greens!

If you have chance Eat a meal at a table with Friends and Family everyday. Catch up and Communicate , have a joke and you remember you aren't on your own. Even if your Family embarrass you sometimes it's good to remind yourself why they are embarrassing , and you help them feel Special too. In ten minutes you feel like you are not alone. If you are not at home and they live far away , get them on the phone or Skype at meal times and you can still eat together.

I hope these simple tricks will help you and relieve some of your stress over the Festive Season and throughout the year.

Now , I have relaxed here with you , I must go and get on with putting my new Christmas Products on Etsy .

I have been a little delayed this year as I have just taken part in my first ever stage production , so all my relaxation tips were very important to get me through.

It really built up my confidence but took up a lot of time , so I have only just finished my Christmas Products and Stress Relieving Bunny and Kitten Toys.

I'm putting my Christmas themed Cuddle Kittens and Bunny Hugs and Jolly Robins in my shop this weekend , I hope you like the look of them , please let me know in the Comments or tell me your tips to stay relaxed.

And watch out for the big reveal of my Bauble Buddies from Santa to Mr. Elf and Mr Christmas Llama next week. I think you will love them.