Thank you for your question. It’s important to have a safe space that you can access over Christmas if you are feeling overwhelmed or upset. Make your own little retreat (whether you are in your own home or someone else’s house) so you have somewhere to take some time out if things start to feel difficult. If you are in someone else’s house, this may be a bathroom, a spare bedroom or the garden. You can excuse yourself saying something like ‘I’m just going to stretch my legs or get some fresh air for a moment’ Then, you can use a grounding technique such as The 5–4–3–2–1 method.
Then name:
5 things you can see
4 things you can feel
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Quietly to yourself, repeating as many times as you need until you feel calmer and your strong emotions have started to pass.
Reproductive health & wellbeing for everybody