RESET for the Holidays: A Mindful Way to Care for Yourself

The holiday season brings opportunities for connection and celebration, and they can also stretch our capacity to stay grounded. Due to the stressful nature of this time of year, it becomes easy to lose touch with personal needs. Utilized by our psychiatric team at Mount Sinai Medical Center, the RESET tool is a mindful reminder that supports wellbeing not just on the surface, but at the deeper level where the physical effects of stress meet the mental.

To utilize the RESET method, see the below exercise:

Recognize Your Patterns

Take a moment to observe how you may be reacting to life happening around you. What is the story your mind is telling? Are you holding your breath? Are your shoulders tight? Pause judgement and notice your physical and emotional state. This kind of awareness is the starting point for change and decreased reactivity.

Engage Your Body and Breathe

Come back into your body. Feel your feet on the floor, press your palms together, or gently place a hand over your heart. Then bring your attention to your breathing pace. Try this rhythm: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 2, and exhale for 6. Repeat as needed. This simple action calms your nervous system, helping you feel safer and more in tune with what you need.

Sculpt Your Mindset

Shift your inner dialogue by choosing thoughts that feel safe, supportive, and true. It is not about overriding reality. It is about meeting it with self-compassion. Write out what you are feeling and ask: what do I need right now? Visualize yourself responding with steadiness. Your brain is constantly wiring based on repetition. Direct your focus toward thoughts that regulate your system and build resilience, not reactivity.

Explore Your Options

When life feels tight or overwhelming, remind yourself that you still have choices. You do not have to get it all right. You can choose rest, quiet, or a different way forward. Let go of the need to control everything. Balance often shows up through flexibility, not perfection. You are allowed to begin again as many times as you need.

Turn On Your Noticing Brain

Take a moment to observe your environment. What messages is it sending to your nervous system? How are you eating, sleeping, and connecting? Consider what you might add that is nourishing, or what you can release that feels depleting. Even small adjustments in these areas can support nervous system regulation, enhance daily functioning, and bring your mind and body into better alignment.

“The RESET technique isn’t about negating our human stressors – it is about remembering the calm, capable parts of one’s self that surfaces when we feel safe,” Mary Jaramillo Mangia, MS, LMHC, Clinical Director of Outpatient Behavioral Health Center says.

To learn more about Mount Sinai’s Behavioral Health offerings at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Behavioral Health, click here.