How to Calm Inflammation During the Holidays — Without Changing What’s on Your Plate

🧠 How to Calm Inflammation During the Holidays Without Changing What’s on Your Plate

The holidays are here — and if you live with migraines, you’ve probably noticed how much talk there is about food.
What to eat. What to avoid. Which ingredient might trigger symptoms.

And yes, food matters.
But it’s not the only piece of the puzzle.

Migraines don’t just come from what’s on your plate. They stem from dysfunction in your inflammatory network…the system that determines whether your body stays calm and balanced or tipped into inflammation.

🔬 The Three Parts of the Inflammatory Network

If you want lasting migraine freedom, you need to understand what actually drives inflammation in the body.
Your inflammatory network has three main components:

1. Inducers - the things that initiate inflammation:

- Food
- Electrolytes
- Movement
- Sleep
- Stress (what we call mindset modulation)
- Toxicity load

2. Drivers-the things that keep inflammation going:

- Underlying infections
- Hormone imbalances
- Gut health issues

3. Genetics- what determines how sensitive your body is when the other two are triggered.

Each piece plays a role, but one of the most underestimated inducers is mindset modulation — or what you may think of as stress

Inside the Freedom From Migraine Method® program, we use the term mindset modulation because our goal isn’t to make stress disappear (that’s impossible). Instead, we’re retraining how the body perceives stress — because perception determines your body’s response.

When your body senses danger, even from something as simple as overcommitting, running late, or juggling the holidays, it flips the switch into fight-or-flight.

And that single response can keep inflammation high, even when you’re eating perfectly and “doing everything right.”

Research now shows that for some people, chronic stress can create more inflammation than inflammatory food ever could.

That’s why learning to calm your stress response- to modulate your mindset- is just as important as changing your diet.

🪥 Everyday Mindfulness That Lowers Inflammation

That small shift tells your nervous system, I’m safe right now.
And when your body feels safe, cortisol and adrenaline settle, giving your inflammatory inducers… food, sleep, movement, and stress… a chance to rebalance.

You already do it twice a day, without fail.
Tomorrow morning, instead of rushing through it, take those two minutes to actually be present.

Feel your feet grounded on the floor.
Notice the sound of the water and the taste of the toothpaste.
Relax your shoulders.

Choose one word to repeat silently — steady, calm, or safe.

That small shift tells your nervous system, I’m safe right now.
And when your body feels safe, cortisol and adrenaline settle, giving your inflammatory inducers… food, sleep, movement, and stress… a chance to rebalance.

This is mindfulness that actually changes your biology.

🎁 Holiday Mindfulness You Can Practice Anywhere

Now, bring that same awareness into the holidays.

Picture yourself wrapping a present or setting the table for a meal.
Normally, you’d rush through it, already thinking about what’s next.

This time, slow down:

Feel the texture of the wrapping paper.
Notice the scent in the room or the glow of the lights.
Take a slow breath in through your nose and exhale a little longer through your mouth.
Repeat your anchor word- peace, present, or enough.

That single shift tells your body: “This moment is safe.”
You’ve just turned down one of the most powerful inflammatory inducers-chronic fight or flight.

The beauty of mindfulness is that it doesn’t require extra time.
It’s about showing up differently to what you already do.

💫 When Pain Shows Up

Now that you have an everyday mindful moment and a holiday one, let’s talk about something even more important-pain.

Inside the Freedom From Migraine Method®, every woman creates her own Blueprint for Pain Relief- a personal plan for what to do the instant symptoms start.

But for today, I want to give you one simple starting point: awareness.

The earlier you recognize the shift, that subtle signal your body gives before pain builds, the more control you have.

When you sense that moment:

Stop. Even if you’re at work or in the middle of something. Take thirty seconds.
Notice what you’re feeling.
Recognize it without judgment.
Ask: “What do I need right now?” Not“Why is this happening again?”

Maybe you have one or two inducers you know you need to support…maybe it’s rest, hydration, gentle movement, or stepping into quiet.

Just recognizing the pattern won’t make the pain vanish, but it’s the first step to shifting your physiology.
Because the more you teach your body safety, the less it turns on inflammation as protection.

🌙 The Takeaway

This holiday season, practice all three:

One mindful moment in your daily routine.
One mindful moment in your holiday routine.
One mindful response when pain begins.

Each moment teaches your body that it’s safe.
And every time your body feels safe, inflammation calms, healing begins, and your path toward migraine freedom becomes that much clearer.

💬 Join the Conversation

Try one of these mindful moments this week, then come share it inside the Women’s Migraine Freedom Group on Facebook.

I’ll be sharing mine there — and so will my team — so we can compare notes and celebrate your wins together.

Because freedom isn’t about doing everything perfectly.
It’s about teaching your body, one mindful moment at a time, that it’s safe to heal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbie Waidl is the Owner of In The Balance Health Coaching LLC, and Founder of The Freedom From Migraines Method™ & The Migraine Freedom Protocol™
She supports busy moms living with Migraines.

Debbie will uncover what is holding them back from migraine freedom so they can live their life pain and symptom free, work productively, spend the time they want with family and friends, and stop missing out on the things they enjoy.

A message from Debbie:
"I was once right where you are now. 100% believing there was NO WAY to end migraines and my only option was to learn how to live with them or find that magic pill that maybe would work for a while. If anyone told me back then that I could end my pain once and for all, I would have called BS and popped another pill!

Skeptical times 10 was my middle name for sure because when you try it all and everyone tells you they can help you and they don’t. You stop believing… you lose HOPE!

I now realize I was approaching my migraines all backward.

I was trying to cover up symptoms versus trying to end my pain."

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