Recovering from Holiday Hangover

Do you suffer from holiday hangover? I always do, and I don’t even have AS! (My husband, Keegan, is the one with AS.) Now that Keegan and I have 2 kids, our hangovers are even worse than before. But as I sit here, in the week in between Christmas and New Year, I think about how recovering from this time is crucial to Keegan and for myself as his caregiver.

1. Treat yo self (and over a bit of time)

That’s right. The holiday season lasts a long time. (Honestly, I don’t feel like I stop between October 1 and January 2.) So when we look at how to recuperate from this time, it always is a good reminder to “treat yo self” and do it for a while. Like the reminder I often have to mutter when I’m cleaning, it didn’t take a day to make the mess so it won’t take a day to clean it.

When I see Keegan during this time, it’s often his fatigue that’s the worst that is impacted by the change in weather. So, we take the opportunity to take some of our holiday gift money and dedicate it to quick Trader Joe’s meals and takeout. That’s our go-to way of helping us recover from this time period.

So ask yourself: what is a way you can treat yourself and take something off your plate? And do it consistently or frequently to regain over the next few weeks?

2. Forgive yo self

This one is particularly tough for me, but crucial for my mental health. Keegan sent me a photo of our living room today. There are more bags and boxes than I remembered full of gifts, candy, and stocking stuffers. My anxiety always kicks in at this point. I anxiously anticipate the clock striking 5 o’clock. “I’m going to have to clean that today.” But I don’t. That’s just the voice in my head telling me I have to. I have to forgive myself in these moments. I don’t need to have a perfectly clean house to enjoy being with my kids, watching a movie on the couch, etc. And even when we’re ready to clean, it doesn’t all have to happen in a day.

So watch your inner voice. What is it telling you? And is that voice just adding more stress? Is it based in any truth?

3. Listen to yo self

What during the holiday worked for you? What didn’t work for you? Every year, we travel for the holidays. We have 3 grandparent units to visit between Ohio and Tennessee, and those trips become exhausting quickly. So, over the many years of driving, we’ve found a few things to improve upon for the next year. For instance, we got a bigger car so Keegan is more comfortable. We also always pack a travel essentials kit just in case of a flare-up. We pack healthy snacks like fruit, vegetables, and hummus to offset the fast food that we will inevitably get on the way back home. Because who has time to cook dinner after being away for 10 days?

So, what can you do to make your holidays better next year?

I hope everyone had a restful, joyful, and merry time this holiday season. We’ve appreciated spending time with family after our quarantined holiday last year. But it was a good reminder for us to continually make our trips easy on ourselves.