We all know the feeling: you have too much on your plate, you’re trying to juggle, but things just keep piling up and you’re losing sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.
If you just spend all of your time, all of your waking moments, working a little harder, things would work out … because at the end of the day, the only way to relieve the stress is by completing all of your tasks.
Or is it?
Why not try hyggelig as a stress relief?
Leaving your difficulties at the door and dedicating specific time to be hyggelig can serve as a shelter from the outside world, helping distract your brain from whatever is causing you stress. It could be for just an hour: take a long, warm bath with no interruptions. Or it could an entire night with a friend, your mom, or simply couped up on the sofa, binge-watching your favorite tv series.
Being hyggelig is part of what keeps me going in stressful periods; thinking (or even saying out loud) to myself, that this relaxing, hyggelig thing I’m doing is an investment in keeping myself from burning out. With hyggelig as a stress relief, the important thing is, that you’re doing something which relaxes you and, because you’re taking time out of your busy schedule, something you find worth-while spending time doing, as the last thing you need is feeling guilty for ‘slacking off’.
In the absence of better translation, hyggelig as stress relief can be said to mean slow and cozy; it is the feeling of being happy and content without rushing to go anywhere or do anything in particular – and allowing yourself this “me-time”.
Taking time to go for a walk in the forest
This will be my last hyggelig lesson: I now hand Annette the baton of future lessons on how to be hyggelig. However, you will not be completely free of me! I will still be teaching you about Denmark and hyggelig through Facebook and Instagram posts, so if you haven’t already done so, hurry up and give Hyggelig Smushies a like and a follow. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll use hyggelig as a way to relieve stress in your everyday life.
