5 tips to Stay Sane this Season

Christmas is an emotional time. Not least due to the reality of family life, it also brings back some painful memories, reminds us of those we’ve lost, and marks the passing of time (yes, you are too old to expect Santa to fill your stocking).

With the crazy build up, financial stresses, lists, parties and shopping – don’t forgetting the shopping – then the post-lunch crash and bad TV on the day, Christmas is an emotional roller coaster. So, how do you remain balanced and calm while the rest of the world loses its peace and goodwill?

1- Don’t try to be sane

Christmas is not about sanity. Look around you. You’ve brought a dead tree into your room and covered it in tinsel. You are singing religious songs in a voice so high your throat is hurting and wearing a jumper so cheap you keep getting electric shocks. Don’t even think about normal – nothing is normal at this time of year.

Spa for English eccentrics:  Try the mechanical Stonebath, Snow Storm Experience and Sabbia Med sunlight therapy room at Spa at Ye Olde Bell, Nottinghamshire

Product to Christmas spa-kle: Natural Spa Factory 23 Carat Gold, Pearl & Caviar Moisturiser (50ml £48)

2- Practise compassion

Now, more than ever, you need to remind yourself what you love about your family members, even when they are driving you up the wall. See their flaws (and your own) as touchingly amusing (or in the worst-case scenario, worthy of an anecdote for your therapist) rather than disastrous signs of failure. Be kind. All we can do here on earth is support each other amid the insanity. It’s not easy being human and imperfect; and that basic, shared understanding is as good a place as any to start.

Spa to get loved up: Weavers’ House Hug (120 minutes, £137) at Weavers’ House Spa at the Swan at Lavenham, Suffolk

Product to spread the love: Temple Spa’s With You In Mind – Peace and Relaxation Collection (£30 £1.50 donated to mental health charity, Mind)

3- Let go of expectations

Whenever I hear people say, “I just want this Christmas to be perfect” my heart sinks. I don’t say it but I’m thinking, you are doomed, my friend, and so too is everyone in your crazy radius. ‘Perfect’ is a pretty high bar, so is “special”. We’re talking about a dreary day in December trapped indoors with your family eating mostly brown or green food while wearing fire-hazard jumpers or onesies. As the great writer Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.”

Social media has a lot to answer for, but we all know that each online snap happens when the camera holder forces everyone to smile probably mid-argument or sulk before they go back to being moody and human. And yet we beat ourselves up with every perfect picture our friends post, deciding to believe that everyone is perfect except us. One of the best pieces of advice on how to keep sane comes from author Matt Haig, who posted on Twitter, “Do not compare yourself to other people.”

Personally, I’m a fan of imperfection. It’s more entertaining and often very amusing, especially when told afterwards to a group of friends in a wine bar. Perfect is robotic, scary, and boring. Our flaws are what make us unique. I suppose you could argue that being a perfectionist is an interesting flaw: maybe it is for everyone else when your impossible standards have failed to be reached and you have a total and spectacular meltdown.

Spa to be mindful: Haslauer Reflective Sunlight Therapy (40 minutes £25) and Mindful Massage (90 minutes, £157) at ESPA at Lucknam Park, Wiltshire

Product to get grounded: Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Bath & Shower Oil (£49)

4- Create a calm space

You may want to run away, but you can’t. So, learn to escape in your own head. Picture somewhere beautiful you would rather be and visit it in your mind whenever you start to feel your heartbeat increase and your jaw clench. Try to do this before you start imagining strangling your relatives. If you are stuck for visual images, head to a beautiful spa and have a blissful treatment – then re-imagine it in minute detail whenever you feel yourself getting stressed. Light a candle with a spa scent to help transport you back to a place of calm.

Spa to escape: Sublime Rhythm by Lola’s Apothecary (55 minutes, £69) at The Garden Secret Spa, Derbyshire

Product to transport: Thalgo Indocéane Relaxing Candle (£21.50)

5- Stockpile sleep

If there’s one thing guaranteed to send you over the edge this season, it’s lack of sleep. Easily done, due to the excitement of parties, the dog knocking over the Christmas tree, singing drunks at 3am, holiday sniffles, never mind the stress and Christmas lists whirring around in your head. Prepare for Christmas insomnia by getting in some extra hours zzzz beforehand (if you struggle to drop off read our sleep tips here).

Spa to knock you out: Sleep Package, The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel, Newmarket (£394 per room)

Product for beauty sleep: Caudalie Night Infusion Cream (50ml £42)