Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Dealing With Holiday Stress

It is a little difficult to believe that Christmas is exactly a month away and Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I think it is safe to say that the holiday season is officially in full swing. As much as I love the holiday season and everything that comes with it: the family dinners, decorating, gift buying, and the element of magic that floats in the air – the holiday season can be a little stressful.

Ironically some of the holiday festivities that we look forward to the most are the exact things that have to potential to add the element of stress to the season along with setting our expectations too high sometimes…the perfect dinner, buying the perfect gift, and dealing with the stress of that crazy family member attending the holiday dinner. Lets face it, we all have at least one crazy family member, and if you think your family is composed of perfectly normal individuals, then I hate to inform you, but chances are if you can’t identify the crazy person in your family you are probably that crazy family member…

I have done some research and have found a few good tips for dealing with the upcoming holiday stress.

1.      Isolate the reason you are stressed (i.e. bad Christmas memories, you over committed yourself, set your expectations too high), the change your outlook, if you can take some things off of your plate, If holiday traditions aren’t working change them.
2.    Plan ahead: Don’t wait till the last minute to do all of the holiday grocery shopping, save gift wrapping till Christmas Eve, etc.
3.    Workout: working out can relieve stress and is a good way to keep in shape during the holiday season and gives you a chance to escape and put thing in perspective
4.    Learnto acceptant everyone as they are: Just because it is the holiday season that does not mean a person is magically going to change their personality.
5.    If you are feeling depressed sniff a citrus fruit. Citrus fragrances boost feeling of well-being and relieve stress
6.    Don’t give up the things you find humor in: Laughing is proven to reduce stress
7.     Make a To-Do List: Visually seeing what you have accomplished has the ability to put your mind at rest
8.    Think positive thoughts: Focusing only on negative thought wake up your body’ stress response. Think of everything that is going right and everything you have accomplished. Remember it is a time to celebrate!

3 comments:

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  2. Really good advice! There is always so much going on during the holidays that you have to remember to relax.
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