~Haley Neidich, LCSW
The holidays are upon us again and everyone’s anticipating the fun and excitement of the season. While the holidays can be the best times of year for some people, it often turns out to be the worst for others. The holiday season comes with avoidable self-induced stress that may be a major cause for concern.
In a 1999 study published in the journal Circulation, holiday stress and overindulgence were a major risk factor for the fatal heart attacks in December and January. It is possible to manage holiday stress if you can identify what makes you stressed during the holidays.
What Causes Holiday Stress
Many people report feeling so stressed in the holiday season and the cause of this stress hovers around doing too much, spending too much, eating too much, and engaging in too many activities. For some, the stress begins when they start to worry about how they will have a “fun-filled” holiday season.
Too Many Activities
Fun activities make up much of the holiday season; from holiday parties, excess shopping activities, religious activities, to visiting friends. While these activities bring us feelings of joy and cheer, they may stress us both physically and mentally. Too many such activities rolling up in one period will definitely leave us feeling frazzled, and ultimately, fatigued.
Eating Too Much
One thing we love the holiday season for is food. However, overindulging in food or alcohol during the holidays leave many with stomach troubles, alcohol intoxication symptoms, and of course, embarrassment. In addition, some end up spending too much to drink and eat that they end up feeling stressed about the consequent debt and illnesses.
Not Enough Quality Time
The holiday season brings family members together to wine and dine, the togetherness may be so much it leaves us with little time to spend time alone. For some people who get more emotional support from friends, family gatherings may make them feel lonely.
Strategies to Minimize Holiday Stress
Holiday stress is avoidable and much of it is self-induced. Here are some tips for cutting down on the stress this season.
Shop Wisely
You don’t need to shop till you drop to have a merry holiday season, you can have a fun-filled season while still saving you a lot of money. Get creative! Give the gifts money can’t buy instead of getting caught up in the stress of crowded department stores. Think outside the box and avoid spending so much on those generic gifts. Some things you could do? Create a photo album filled with childhood memories or call a radio show and ask to wish a loved one a happy holiday.
If you must, go shopping early before the crowds descend and make everyone want to scamper for the gift items. Decide how much you want to spend on the holiday and stick to it. When you’ve exhausted that amount, you’re done.
Reset Your Priorities
Most of us really just engage in certain activities within the season to go with the flow. If you are overwhelmed by excessive shopping, visiting friends and family, and too much merry-making, then cut some of these things out. You will truly enjoy your holidays if you do only things you enjoy.
You could simply spend the day alone with your family watching your favorite movies or going to your favorite restaurant with a loved one. Celebrate the season in simple ways.
Create a Schedule
Before setting out on the activities for the season, try to put those plans on paper and see how workable they are. Doing too much within a short time is one of the reasons people get stressed out in the holidays.
Prioritize and remove unnecessary activities from your to-do list for the holidays. For each day during the holidays, have a plan. Schedule time to exercise, take a walk, stay alone quietly, shop if you need to, and time to spend with family and friends. They key is to maintain balance and not have the holidays spent only on activities that will leave you drained.
Change Your Expectations
Really, to minimize stress during the holiday, you’ve got to change your expectations about the whole season. You have to realize that only you can decide how much “fun” you want to have and how much bonding you are willing to cram in a short period. From the get-go, limit the number of events you will host or attend and the amount of time you will spend with others. In addition, remember that not everyone will be in their best behavior and family members and some loved ones may irritate and overwhelm us. Set a limit on how much negativity you can take in the holiday if you want it to be stress-free.
Eat Healthy
You will be tempted to eat and drink as much as you can, but remember to eat healthy. Eat stress-relieving foods such as nuts, dark chocolates, spinach, oatmeal, sip lots of tea. If you must eat something sweet, go for carbs with low or no fats, such as jellybeans. These foods boost your brain’s amount of serotonin, a chemical which helps you feel calmer and more energetic.
In addition, eat mini-meals. Some of these stress-reducing foods only make you calm for a couple of hours. So if you must avoid holiday stress, eat small frequent meals throughout the day instead of big ones infrequently. However, ensure you don’t take in too little or too much calories.
Find What the Holidays Truly Means to You
Some people get stressed out during the holiday because they forget the real meaning. Some people go with the flow of trying to shop for new things, eat and drink, and engage in many activities without finding a meaning for the holidays. Take the time to reaffirm what the holiday means to you, in regard to your personal life, family, community, and religion. Holiday stress is real and is avoidable. You can reduce the stress of the holidays by and adopted smart strategies to tackle the common stressors this season. Remember, the key to having a stress-free holiday is to maintain balance in all aspects of your life. If you feel like your holiday stress has gotten out of control, you can always connect with a mental health professional online who can help.
Happy holidays!
Haley Neidich, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and the Senior Director of Clinical Development for ThriveTalk.com, an online therapy company helping to serve geeky gals around the world.
This article is not intended as health advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional consultation with a health care professional health care provider.
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