During the Holiday season, we know that times can become stressful and overwhelming. Our team at Fairhaven Treatment Center encourages you to integrate mindful practices into your daily routine to help alleviate stress and experience peace this year!

Meditation

Meditation is a practice that involves clearing the mind through a combination of mental and physical techniques to develop a state of deep relaxation and tranquility. The body is an ally who has tremendous capabilities to protect and heal. This can instill the importance of pausing to check in emotionally, physically, and spiritually. At Fairhaven Treatment Center, we integrate Mind and Body so that you can listen to the needs of your body and respond compassionately. To help care for your mind and body during this holiday season consider meditation practice to help release stress, ground, and access your center so that you can make decisions that serve your highest and wisest self. Our Mind Body therapist, Dana Ingram, suggests a basic breath meditation – “Focus on inhaling for a count of 6 and exhaling for a count of 6. The number doesn’t matter. If 6 is too long, give 4 a try. Just work towards a balanced breath and notice the difference.” There are numerous mindfulness and meditation practices that can help to alleviate stress and can be a part of self-care practice. Give yourself permission to explore and find what serves you. For a deeper understanding of our holistic clinical approach, you can view our Mind Body Program video.

Art Therapy

We believe there are several outlets to engage the mind, body, and spirit outside of verbal expression. Art therapy can be used to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, enhance social skills, and reduce stress. Our Art Therapist, Angelina Burton, suggests a few activities such as mindfully freehand painting with colors that represent your mood, creating a mandala to connect to joy, or creating a personal collage that represents things that make you happy. Allow yourself to be fully present in these activities by connecting with your five senses by immersing yourself in the art process instead of focusing on the product.

Nutrition

We know that Holiday meals can be stressful when recovering from an Eating Disorder. One way to decrease stress levels around this time of year is by planning ahead for meals and snacks. It’s important to follow the meal plan created with your dietitian when possible and eat regularly throughout the day to fuel and nourish the body. It could be beneficial to ask the host what time dinner will be served in case you need to bring a snack to honor your hunger cues before the meal. Our Registered Dietitian, Emma Wicks, suggests having a festive trail mix while on the go. Simply mix some of your favorite snacks like Chex cereal, cinnamon teddy grahams, various nuts, dried cranberries, and cheez-its! Skipping meals and snacks to compensate for a Holiday meal can skew our hunger and fullness cues, lead to consumption past comfort and fullness at the meal, and possible distress to the individual.

From everyone at Fairhaven Treatment Center, we wish you and your loved ones a Happy Holidays. If you have any questions regarding treatment, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Regional Outreach Representatives. Eden Davis is the point of contact for those in the Northeast Region eden@refreshmentalhealth.com and Shawna Richey for the Southeast Region slei@refreshmentalhealth.com.