Let’s Talk About Mental Health: Holidaze health 

Three tools to help you slide into the buttery zone of resilience during a stressful time of year

By Jeremy Harder GUEST COLUMNIST 

Ski town facts—the hustle, bustle, and diverse social dynamics that often amplify mental health and substance use challenges, have arrived. For most of us, the motion has been set in force. Out-of-town drivers in mental lapses of wonderment of Big Sky poorly navigating 5,000-pound vehicles, frantic food shoppers filing through local markets with unattended carts, blind to people around them or lacking peripheral vision, and the youth running wild after being released from school for 12 and a half days, only to run amuck with visions of powdery ski days in the terrain park and never-ending bags of Nerds Gummy Clusters.  

Welcome to what I call “The Holidaze Season” in Big Sky. For the next four months, we attempt to accommodate the needs, desires, wishes and often unrealistic goals of our vacationing, well-intentioned friends while managing our own needs and emotions. In the midst of it all, imagine being equipped with quick, tangible, and practical tools to regulate our central nervous system, cultivating a sense of steadiness amongst the chaos.  

The central system is the hub for our fight, flight, and freeze response and includes our limbic system. According to the National Institute of Health, our limbic system is “composed of the piriform cortex, hippocampus, septal nuclei, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, and anterior nuclei of the thalamus. The fornix and fiber tracts connect the limbic system parts, allowing them to control emotion, memory, and motivation.” Got all that?  

According to my own ‘National Institute of JJ,’ the central nervous system determines whether we want to run into the middle of Ousel Falls Road and scream at the top of our lungs or burrow ourselves into our couch, lock the door and doom scroll on Instagram for three days. It’s the place that allows us to learn, process feelings, and wake up motivated to go through the day or not. A.k.a. fight or flight… a.k.a. run away or face the day.   

The holiday/ski/winter season, often associated with joy and celebration, can also bring about stress and overwhelming feelings, quickly becoming “The Holidaze Season.” The increased demands on our time, coupled with societal expectations—holiday parties, Christmas strolls, gift-giving, etc.—and busier work schedules, take a toll on our central nervous system and, eventually, the overall health of our minds and bodies.  

Maintaining a healthy balance of our system and finding that buttery zone of resilience is crucial for overall well-being. Fortunately, we have access to simple tools, readily available at any moment, to help regulate and access a more buttery state during the holiday hustle or any time of year. For these simple yet effective tools to work, it requires practice—you can’t just read about them. So, I invite you to try on a few.   

Three mindfulness exercises 

One of the most accessible and powerful tools for regulating the central nervous system is mindful breathing. Mindful breathing techniques help ground us and move us out of the hyperactive, frantic, anxiety-induced zone and into  that “frosting-on-the-cupcake” resilient zone.  

Amidst the chaos, listen to yourself by taking a few moments each day to practice deep, intentional breathing. This practice can make a significant difference in your presence. You can do these while standing in line at The Country Market, waiting for the tram and driving or walking to work.   

First, try tactical or square breathing: Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, and hold for 4 seconds.  

And repeat. Notice how you feel. 

Another grounding tool is starfish or five-finger breathing.  

Choose a hand to be your starfish and a finger to be your breath pointer. Start below your thumb, down at your wrist, and wait for your next inhale.  

As you breathe in naturally, trace your in-breath carefully up your thumb with your finger. Complete all fingers and 5 breaths. Notice how you feel. 

If you require a lift or boost of energy, lightly tapping points on your body have been suggested to increase energy. If you find yourself decimated after helping an injured snowboarder on Mr. K., or you just bussed eight tables at Tips Up, try body or gorilla tapping.  

Using your fingertips, lightly tap on your forehead, temples, cheeks and chest. Add some gorilla grunts for fun! Notice how you feel. 

Prioritizing the health of your central nervous system is essential, especially during “The Holidaze Season,” which, for us in Big Sky, can last through March. Incorporating mindful breathing techniques, body tapping, and finding time for the outdoors, even amidst the holiday hustle, is the greatest gift of self-care you can give to both yourself and those around you.  

Consider thinking that things are happening FOR you instead of TO you. Notice how these shifts in perspective feel. Remember to feel all the feels; it’s okay to be a little bit broken—that’s part of being human.  

Jeremy ‘JJ’ Harder is the Facilitator of Creativity and Innovation at the Big Sky School District, father, husband, friend, coach and advocate. He has a desire to foster vulnerability and create pathways for more candid discussions around the stigma we sit with each day around mental health, substance use and wellness. He is a Big Sky community member and a Wellness Navigator who has struggled with mental health and substance use challenges most of his life.   

To connect with local resources and explore the Be Well and the Navigator Network—dedicated volunteers linking individuals with available resources and collaborating with agencies to cultivate a thriving ecosystem—visit bewellbigsky.com.