Tag Archive for: Holiday

Stay Healthy and Happy This Holiday Season

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The holidays are supposed to be fun and joyful, right? Right! However, with the holiday season comes stress and, in some cases, even depression. Being realistic, planning ahead, and seeking support can help.

Be Realistic

Shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, and even attending holiday parties and events can leave you feeling overwhelmed during the holiday season. Remember, you don’t have to do it all. Pick a few things that are most important to you and your family. If you always decorate inside and outside, just choose one and alternate year after year. Families change and grow and so do traditions. Select a few to keep and incorporate new traditions, especially ones that aren’t a ton of work.

Sticking to a budget is also important during the holidays. Prior to shopping for gifts and groceries, decide what your budget is and don’t go over it. Money does not buy happiness.

Set realistic expectations for relationships too. Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean everyone suddenly gets along. Setting aside your differences is important. Accept your friends and family as they are even though you may not agree with some of their thoughts and behaviors.

Plan Ahead

Planning ahead can also be helpful in alleviating holiday stress. Set aside certain days to shop, wrap, bake, decorate, and connect with family and friends. Breaking up everything you have to do into manageable blocks of time will help reduce the anxiety that comes with last-minute scrambling. 

Learn to say “no”. You’ll be appreciated a lot less if you are feeling resentful and overwhelmed because you put too much on your plate. If you feel you must help, add time for those projects into your agenda when planning ahead. Be sure to manage expectations by understanding what’s being asked of you and don’t take on additional tasks that weren’t on your original agenda.

Take Time for You

Self-care is important, especially during the holidays. Find something to help clear your mind such as breathing exercises, going for a walk, listening to music, or going for a drive. Spending 15-minutes alone with no distractions can help restore your “inner calm”.

Sometimes just having someone to talk to can ease the burden of a stressful situation. Call a trusted friend or family member and talk about anything! Get your mind off of what’s stressing you out or hit the topic head-on, you’ll know what works for you by how you feel after the conversation. Additionally, there are social media channels, support groups, and even online events that can provide a support system to help ease the tension.

While many people experience stress during the holiday season because there’s just too much to do, sometimes people feel anxious and depressed because they don’t have a packed agenda for the holidays. If you or someone you know feels isolated or lonely, reach out to your community. Get involved in social events through work, school, or even the church you attend. Dedicating some time to volunteering is another great way to fill your schedule and lift your spirit.

It’s important to know when symptoms are becoming unmanageable and you need to seek help. If you’re feeling sad, anxious, irritable, hopeless, or unable to sleep or do your daily tasks, it might be time to reach out to a professional. Mental health providers have tools to help you feel better by talking through and processing your feelings. There is nothing wrong with asking for help! Make sure that you are prioritizing your mental health because we all need time to recharge.

Learn more about NOAH’s counselors and how you can request an appointment here.

Celebrate a Healthier Season with NOAH Holiday Recipes

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The holiday season is filled with traditions and memories. Sometimes these are traditions shared throughout our family for generations, are new traditions we make with friends and family, or are something unique to the place where we live. But so often, that tradition involves something festive to eat or drink. The season and memories are intertwined with holiday recipes that bring the season to life.

However, to really make the holidays memorable, they should include everyone. If you, a family member, friend, or guest is living with diabetes, heart disease, food allergies or sensitives, or another chronic condition managed with diet, NOAH has some great recipes.

NOAH’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionists are thrilled to share some of their favorite holiday recipes for meals, treats, and snacks with everyone in a way that is healthy for all your friends and family to enjoy. So enjoy everything from sharable appetizers that pack a flavorful punch (without the calories), vegetarian versions of classic main dishes, or show-stopping drinks and desserts that bring the festive feel to a new level.

You can download the NOAH Holiday Cookbook to enjoy these new holiday recipes or reimagined, healthier versions of classics!

Click here to go get your NOAH Holiday Cookbook today. Then, you can enjoy these holiday meals and the flavors and tastes of the season in a deliciously healthy way.

The NOAH Holiday Cookbook is Here!

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We all celebrate the holiday season in different ways. But many of the traditions passed down from generation to generation, or new and exciting ways we celebrate the season include something memorable to eat or drink.

Not everyone can enjoy all the seasonal favorites if they are living with diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, or another chronic condition partially managed by a healthy diet.

That’s why NOAH’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionists are thrilled to share some of their favorite holiday meals, treats, and snacks with everyone in a way that is healthy for all your friends and family to enjoy.

You can download the NOAH Holiday Cookbook to enjoy these new recipes!

Click here to go get your NOAH Holiday Cookbook today. Then, you can enjoy these holiday meals and the flavors and tastes of the season in a deliciously healthy way.

Ways to Celebrate Family Caregivers this Holiday Season

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While National Family Caregiver Month may be over, NOAH knows a few things:

  1. Caregivers deserve to be honored, appreciated, and supported all year.
  2. Being a family caregiver over the last last two years has meant something different than in past years.

Caregivers who are helping family members, friends, or loved ones who are aging in place or dealing with an illness (or both) give so much of themselves all year. How should you celebrate a caregiver in your life through the holiday season? We have some ideas.

But first, understand that being a caregiver during the pandemic has been a much different experience.

Many adult and child daycare centers have closed at some point during the pandemic. Some families have opted to make alternate permanent arrangements for their loved ones. What those care centers provide is a sense of community for the aging or ill individual, and respite for the caregiver. Additionally, some organizations that offered other services like meal deliveries have had to adjust to sometimes inconsistent volunteers or staff.

Lastly, there is stress and concern. Caring for older adults and people chronic illnesses or diseases can be even harder when a virus is in the community that is especially dangerous to the person you are caring for.

This gives everyone even more reason to celebrate these individuals throughout the holiday season! Here are some ideas:

  • Food is always a welcome choice! If you can order meals to have delivered or drop off something for the caregiver so they don’t have to cook for themselves later, that will be a welcome gift.
  • Help stock their supplies. If you know what they need to provide care, you can help them out with extra supplies, or even books, games, puzzles, or other activities the patient or caregiver enjoy.
  • Personal pampering for caregivers. A personalized coffee mug for the coffee lover, a calming candle for the caregiver who likes to create a peaceful space, a journal for the writer, and lotion for everyone – because we are all (thankfully) washing our hands a lot more – are all great ways to show appreciation.

Everyone loves a thoughtful gift but showing gratitude and understanding for the hard work caregivers do every day is one of the nicest ways to celebrate them this holiday season and all year.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in 2020

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This year we have experienced many changes, from the way we celebrate birthdays and graduations, to elbow-bumps in place of handshakes. One of the more challenging differences of living through a pandemic, though, is going to be the holiday season, starting with celebrating Thanksgiving.

Typically, people travel to see family and friends, visit multiple homes on Thanksgiving and the days around it. Many people enjoy getting out with friends to local bars and restaurants. None of that, however, is safe in 2020 with COVID-19 increasing it’s hold on our communities and our health.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in 2020 may not be what we are all used to, but it can still be full of good food, friendly faces, and happy memories without risking anyone’s health and safety.

Tips for Thanksgiving 2020

  • Hold a Thanksgiving dinner just for your immediate family in your home.
  • Enjoy the beautiful Central Arizona weather and visit neighbors outdoors and with some distance between you.
  • Share your favorite recipes with friends and family, rather than making and bringing food to a big group Thanksgiving.
  • Delivering meals to isolated friends, family, or others in the community in a safe way.
  • Virtual Thanksgiving dinner with loved ones near or far.

Remember, that while health is critically important with COVID around, we also need to take care of our mental and emotional well-being. Seeing faces on screens and hearing voices over the phone doesn’t take the place of in-person holiday gatherings, but it is much better than not having that interaction at all. Relationships and seeing people you love – even on a screen that has grandma’s thumb covering it half the time – are so important.

Enjoy and embrace something new when you celebrate Thanksgiving, and remember to call, text, video chat, and safely visit (with masks or at a distance) with people you care about. If you need additional support from a counselor or community resources, reach out to the NOAH team for more information about services to support you and your family so you have a happy, healthy time celebrating Thanksgiving.