2020 Holiday Gift Guide for Mental Health

If you are like me, you struggle to find meaningful gifts that also support small businesses.  This year has been especially difficult for all of us given the pandemic, election, and every other stressor that has emerged.  So, we wanted to put together a thoughtful gift guide that supports small businesses and the mental health of your loved ones (or yourself!).

Movement + Breath

You’ve heard us talk at length about the value of movement and breath for trauma survivors, but it’s also an easy way for anyone to up their mental health game in 2021. Here’s some of our favorite small businesses that support movement in psychologically health ways: 

Be.come Project

Be.come Project is owned and led by a non-binary powerhouse that takes your relationship with your body very seriously.  One of my favorite features of the program is that there’s a mental health “check-in” at the beginning of every workout and then a “checkout” at the end to see how movement might have helped you with your feelings along the way.  It’s reasonably priced ($35/month) and is completely virtual.  There’s a nifty little app that makes the program very accessible wherever you are. 

Goldie Yoga

Goldie Graham leads you in through empowering yoga and meditations at Goldie Yoga.  Her practices are available in bundles, and when you purchase any of them, you own them for life. They’re incredibly accessible for you to use in just about any room of your house. Each bundles includes up to 8 classes that you have access to forever! No need for a subscription.  Goldie empowers you throughout the program, so if you have encountered resistance to stretching or moving, Goldie is a really helpful ally in your movement progression. 

Everyday Breathing 101 by Kimmy Moss

If you are new to breathwork or want to take your breathwork game to the next level, Kimmy Moss has a self-paced program where you can learn breathing exercises and pattern techniques to help you breathe. Breathing is something we all do, but if you are a trauma survivor, sometimes you might find that breathing and moving are hard work. Your body is holding so many experiences, leaving you with shallow, stressed breath.  Kimmy teaches you everything you need to know.

Getting ORganized

If you want to support someone with the gift of organization or goal setting, we’ve got some helpful journals and planners for you. 

Get To Work Book by Elise Joy

One of my personal favorite planners/goals journals is the Get To Work Book.  It’s a perfect combination of inspiration and monthly overview goals, plus reflection on previous and future months, project planning, and tracking tools for daily goals and tasks. It’s the bomb and, if you enjoy physically writing these things down on paper, this is a great place to start.  

Self-Reflection Journals

2020 has really asked us all to focus on our mental health, mindset and intentions. Maybe we’ve discovered a need to slow down or perhaps we’ve had to regroup and pivot our previous business, professional or personal plans.  If there’s a person in your life that values self-reflection, then a self-reflection journal is a must have.  A self-reflection journal can offer you prompts to help you think about yourself and your life in ways you hadn’t previously been able to. We love this one from Papier. 

Coffee + Tea

If you have a loved one that lives and breathes by coffee, tea, green juice or other health supplements, here’s a short list of options for you. 

Succulent Coffee Roasters

The owners of Succulent Coffee Roasters travel to South America to taste and handpick the beans that make up their coffee blends. If you love supporting small businesses that work to tirelessly to bring you the best product, try Succulent. I can’t get through my day without it.

Organifi

If you love the health benefits of green juice (and other herbal mixtures) with the convenience and shelf life of a quick powder, then I cannot recommend Organifi enough. These days, we are all a little more concerned about our immune systems. Support your health with the best green juice I’ve ever tasted.  You’ll also find tea and other supplements in their wide range of offerings.  This is, by far, my most product in my home. 

Self-Care Rituals

Self-care expands far beyond wine and bubble baths, but there are always some things that you and your loved ones might appreciate in order to make this holiday season (and the beginning of 2021) a little bit more relaxed and enjoyable.  

Wildling Gua Sha Stone 

One of my favorite self-care rituals is to use a gua sha stone on my scalp, face, neck and shoulders to manually release any tension that build up over the days or weeks. These stones are well loved in my household and offer a moment to release some stress. If you enjoy massages or scalp rubs but cannot access those things in the middle of the pandemic, then this is for you. 

ESPA Anointing Oil

Every gua sha stone needs an oil under it. It allows the stone to glide across your skin for the most soothing massage. My favorite is the ESPA Anointing Oil. It lasts forever and is a luxurious experience. When you are frustrated with your inability to leave your house for much (stupid pandemic) and are craving to enhance your at-home-spa game, this will help you make that happen. 

Brain + Education

The holidays are usually filled with all kinds of exciting plans, but since we are all stuck at home for the holiday season, we might need some extra things to occupy our time or take our healing to the next level.  Here’s some ideas of where to start. 

Relational Games

One of my favorite ways to pass the time is to play some get-to-know-you games with my community. Whether that’s playing with your family at home or hosting a zoom community dinner, one of my favorite games is: We Are Not Really Strangers. It’s a game aimed at making meaningful connections with your people and it sure beats another game of Yahtzee! 

Virtual Education

Not only is 2021 is an excellent time get closer to your loved ones, but it is a great opportunity to step up your education game. May we introduce Traumastery? It’s a virtual education platform that walks you through 12 months of content that is loaded with information, self-reflection prompts and weekly meditations. You even get access to our monthly webinars where we talk to industry leaders about all the hot trauma topics like racial justice, surviving narcissism, and substance use disorders.  We have a limited time offer of receiving a FREE copy of the Healing Codependency ebook straight to your inbox when you register for Traumastery.  This is an excellent gift for someone that might need some support with their trauma history but thrives doing self-paced learning in a cost effective way.  

2020 really threw us a curveball, so we hope that this gift guide offers a bit of relief and guidance as we move into the next year.