Supporting Queer Wellness During the Holidays

By Cartie Whitelaw

As we approach the festive season ahead, our thoughts can be conflicting: delicious cookies, homophobic uncles, Christmas lights, isolation, snowball fights, and fuzzy sweaters. The holidays, while a wonderful time of year, can also be one filled with turmoil, especially if you are queer. So what can we do to change that, or at least give ourselves the support we need during the holiday season?

1. Cultivate a Strong Support Network

Family is often defined by the one you are born into, your parents, siblings, and the extended lot of the bloodline. We believe, however, that family can come in all shapes and sizes, so even if your biological family is a bit complicated, the possibility of having one is still out there. The people who support and love you unconditionally, the ones who pick you up when you are down, those willing to stand by you no matter what, that is your family, whether you share genetics or not. 

So how do you find it? Family emerges around you when you are most yourself. There, you can see how people react to the most authentic version of you; there, you can see who lights you up and who tries to tear you down. Find the activities, the hobbies, the career that make you feel most alive and pursue them all with a ferocious curiosity and ambition. When you are in the spaces that are truest to you, those like-minded to yourself will appear. When this happens, be brave and put yourself out there. Whatever your passions and interests are, creating networks within those spaces will give you the support and understanding that YOU need. It will give you a chance to forge connections with the types of people who push you to be the best version of yourself. 

It doesn’t stop there, however. When you have a network you feel like you can rely on, the best way to foster those connections is with reciprocity and generosity. In simple terms, you get what you give – to receive strong support, you have to also show you can do the same. 

2. Routine, Routine, Routine.

Consistency is the best way to move towards any goal. It can break through mountains, sail through oceans, and with regularity and routine, the seemingly impossible becomes real. It’s also the best way to get yourself out of a winter funk. So where do you start?

• Find an exercise that works for you 

Despite what our Instagram and TikTok feeds may tell us, you actually don’t have to look like a sexy Greek god model. What we recommend right now is to throw all of that away and look at exercising completely differently. Instead of being a way for you to change who you are, turn it into a tool that helps you feel better. Exercise can be a way for you to increase your energy, regulate hormones, increase circulation/sex drive, and decrease overall stress. When you exercise regularly, your body thanks you and rewards you with all sorts of benefits. 

Try finding a thirty-minute block in your day, maybe an hour if you can, and dedicate that to moving your body. It can be cycling, skiing, running, yoga, soccer, or maybe even martial arts. Find something physical that you enjoy doing. This small change, while maybe difficult at first, will allow you to start connecting with your body more, bring you closer to the present moment, bring loads of physical benefits, and redefine being active as a positive thing.

• Create a ritual with what you put in your body

Eating during the holidays is one of the best parts of the season. From pies to cookies and glazed hams, mealtimes are succulent, sweet, and starchy. The problem? Well, while our holiday favorites may be delicious, oftentimes they aren’t filled with lots of fruits and vegetables and other ingredients that are great sources of fiber and key nutrients. This can lead to constipation, slower digestion, and worst of all for our bottoms out there, irregularity in the bathroom. 

Instead of recommending that you skip out on what makes the holidays delicious, we are recommending you integrate supplements into your everyday routine, a morning/evening ritual if you will. Through a combination of Pure for Men’s Multivitamin, Stay Ready Fiber, and Peak Performance Pack, you’ll be sure to get all of the key nutrients you need to lead a healthy life and be ready for anything thrown your way.

• Make self-care a regular part of your day

The term self-care is vastly and widely used; you’ll see it in about every magazine, on every Instagram account. But what does it mean? At Pure for Men, self-care is treating yourself as a luxury and handling yourself accordingly. It’s the act of doing something purely for yourself as a reward for being you. As a queer person, it’s also a revolutionary act of protest. 

One way that you can surely make yourself feel like a luxury is by integrating some of Pure for Men’s Body Products into your daily routine. In the shower, try using our invigorating Body Bar. The Body Bar delivers an all-in-one cleansing experience, using activated charcoal to naturally deodorize and remove dirt, grime, and excess oils—without drying out your skin. This gentle yet effective formula ensures a deep, refreshing clean. After that, scoop out a little bit of our Bum and Body Scrub. This exfoliating shower scrub removes dead skin cells, promoting new cell growth while leaving your skin feeling fresh and rejuvenated. Infused with a refreshing lemon and spearmint scent, it provides an uplifting experience from head to toe. After exfoliating, one of the best things to do to lock in moisture is to use our Bum Balm. Our plant-based balm glides on smoothly from head to bum and everywhere in between, enhancing your natural scent while providing hydration and protection. If you do this on the regular, you and your skin will absolutely feel like a million bucks.

3. Above all, be kind to yourself

While we just listed a whole bunch of things that will be sure to help you get out of any holiday funk this year, we also know that none of us are perfect. Some days, we will slip up on the things we should do, make mistakes. Whatever it may be, the most important thing to remember is that you are important, you are valued, and above all are deserving of kindness. So, as a final note to staying well this year, be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace and take one day at a time.

Written by Cartie Whitelaw, Staff Writer @ Pure for Men

Cartie writes about queer wellness, identity, and finding confidence through community and self-care.