Avoiding Stress During The Holidays
DENVER -It should come as no surprise that the holidays are one of the most taxing and tense times of the year.
The American Psychological Association found in 2008 that eight out of 10 people anticipated a stressful holiday season, largely because of the economy. An older survey showed that 38 percent of people, including nearly half of all women, feel their stress levels rise during the holidays.
The biggest causes of all this anxiety? Finances come first, says research from Mental Health America, followed by painful memories, too many activities, overindulgence, being alone and relationships.
“Most people do suffer some adverse holiday emotions, because change is inherently stressful,” said psychologist Ronald Nathan, creator of the CD “Relieving Your Holiday Stress and Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions,” “and during this time, on top of your regular life, chores and expenses, you’re taking care of all the holiday preparations . . . not to mention dealing with traffic, crushing crowds, long cashier lines, sold-out toys, tangled strings of broken Christmas lights, dirty houses . . . and sometimes divorced or blended families or other issues.”
And any one of those things, Nathan said, can trigger stress and create problems sleeping or eating, increase irritability or anxiety and cause headaches and fatigue, among other things.
There are ways to relieve this season stress: Get plenty of rest, for starters. Eat well. Exercise. Set a budget and stick to it. Simplify entertaining. Travel at off hours. Alleviate pressure by having a gift grab bag or shop online.
Setting priorities and taking care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally will go a long way toward putting more joy and cheer back into the holidays, says physician and psychologist Claire Wheeler with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington.
Wheeler, the author of “Ten Simple Solutions to Stress,” offers these tips:
Manage expectations. Everyone has idealized images of the holiday season, whether they’re inspired by the past or the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But we set ourselves up for disappointment by expecting everything to be perfect.
It helps to sort out your expectations and then adjust them accordingly. Maybe Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t have to be a five-course extravaganza that you cook from scratch, for example, and perhaps the kids don’t need every single toy on their list.
Be realistic about such things as your budget and getting together with family, and work from there.
Create your own holiday philosophy. Take a moment, either on your own or with your nuclear family, to think about what you’d like to get out of the holidays this year. Set a theme for the season, whether it’s togetherness, giving back or scaling back, and then pledge that no matter what happens you will not lose focus.
Learn from mistakes. Remember all of the times you said, “I’m never going to do THAT again.” Ask yourself which parts of holidays past worked and which didn’t, be it in terms of relationships, planning or logistics. Make a conscious decision not to repeat them.
Relax. Finally, when you just can’t take it anymore, try to breathe properly, counsels Wheeler. Breathe in for four counts through your nose, breathe out for eight counts through your mouth; repeat at least four or five times.
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