{"id":2488,"date":"2024-12-03T12:03:16","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T20:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/?p=2488"},"modified":"2024-12-03T12:03:16","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T20:03:16","slug":"setting-personal-boundaries-for-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/2024\/12\/03\/setting-personal-boundaries-for-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting personal boundaries for the holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Feeling overwhelmed with the holidays? If you\u2019re feeling especially overwhelmed this year, you\u2019re not alone. Ultimately, it\u2019s important to take time to care for yourself. The holidays are full of invitations to connect with loved ones and participate in various activities \u2013 but after a while, even the funnest events can feel more exhausting than entertaining.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid to set boundaries for yourself, and only commit to the things that you truly want to be a part of. For example, maybe you don\u2019t have the capacity to participate in your friend group\u2019s gift exchange this year \u2013 be honest about your situation and take care of yourself and your needs. Or perhaps you\u2019ve been invited to a holiday party, but aren\u2019t comfortable socializing in a big group. It\u2019s okay to say no and prioritize your health and well-being.<\/p>\n<p>Need ideas on polite ways to say \u201cno\u201d? Here are some thoughts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep it vague but effective: e.g., \u201cThanks for asking, but that isn\u2019t going to work out for me this year.\u201d; \u201cIt\u2019s not personal; I\u2019m just not going to any holiday parties this year.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Keep trying: e.g., \u201cNone of those dates work for me, but I would love to see you. What are some other times you\u2019re available?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Gratitude: e.g., \u201cThank you so much for thinking of me! I\u2019m sorry I can\u2019t participate.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Just say no: e.g., \u201cThanks, but I\u2019ll have to pass on that this year.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Setting boundaries: e.g., \u201cLet me tell you what I can do\u2026\u201d \u2013 then limit the commitment to what you will be comfortable with; \u201cI\u2019m maxed out.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ultimately, caring for your mental and physical health during the holidays comes down to making time for self-care and prioritizing your well-being.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n1. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/understanding-and-managing-holiday-stress-314523\">https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/understanding-and-managing-holiday-stress-314523<\/a><br \/>\n2. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/balance\/stress-management\/features\/beating-holiday-stress\">https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/balance\/stress-management\/features\/beating-holiday-stress<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Telus Health&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/uvic.lifeworks.com\/?utm_source=lifeworks.com&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=alternate_header\">platform<\/a>&nbsp;is now live.&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;Complete a health assessment, begin a self-paced wellness program, check out supports and resources. Get the help you need, anytime, anywhere.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Feeling overwhelmed with the holidays? If you\u2019re feeling especially overwhelmed this year, you\u2019re not alone. Ultimately, it\u2019s important to take time to care for yourself. The holidays are full of invitations to connect with loved ones and participate in various activities \u2013 but after a while, even the funnest events can feel more exhausting than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14812,"featured_media":2489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-do-know"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2490,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2488\/revisions\/2490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca\/wellness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}