Tips for a stress-less holiday

Writer: Dr Arien van der Merwe.

This time of year comes with mixed feelings, whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukah, the Summer or Winter Solstice, a family holiday, or simply the end of another calendar year, looking forward to a well-deserved break.

There are excitement and expectations galore, but certainly also some negative stress: feeling overwhelmed, pressured, dreading the pending loneliness many of us feel, experiencing a sense of obligation, anxiety about finding gifts, crowded stores, financial worry, not having enough time, family dysfunction, and so on.

Our main challenge is that we sometimes have unreasonably high expectations of our holidays, especially the year-end one! This holiday has to fulfil a year’s worth of neglecting our work-life balance and be the complete rebalance, rejuvenation, rest and recovery period!

Dr Arien van der Merwe is looking forward to continuing her medical practice, which specialises in natural, holistic, integrative and functional medicine, at her new premises in Hope Street, next to Fine & Country. Dr Arien, who is also an author, facilitator and public speaker, has become known as the kruiedokter (herbal doctor) of Hermanus, as she enjoys nothing more than educating people on the healing properties of herbs and spices that can improve our health and wellbeing. She calls her new rooms the ‘Green Healing Space’ from where she’ll be offering health counselling, weight control, stress management and workplace wellness. The Green Healing Space can be found at 16 Hope Street (c/o Hope & Dirkie Uys St). Contact 067 1166 111 or Hermanus@DrArien.co.za. For more info visit www.DrArien.co.za

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 24)