Stress Management: How to Deal with Holiday Stress

by Darlene Josaphe on December 6th, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Although holidays are supposed to be a happy time of celebrating and visiting with family and friends, they’re often the most stressful times of the year. Your body and mind can also react to “happy” stress. The birth of a baby, wedding—and the holidays—can all trigger stress simply because of the emotions involved.

How to Deal with Holiday Stress

Today, people are often stressed during the holidays because of shopping expectations with limited finances, dysfunctional families, being alone, and rushing. You can deal with the stress of the holiday season by adhering to a few methods of reducing stress. Here are 5 sure-fire ways to approach the holiday season relaxed and in control:

Don’t over-schedule. Staying true to the holiday spirit by over-scheduling can make you experience fatigue and develop a bad attitude about the holiday season. Choose your activities wisely and don’t be afraid to say “No!” to parties and other activities that will zap your energy.
Don’t neglect yourself. Keep up with your exercise schedule and continue or begin a healthy diet plan to develop a positive mental state among the chaos. Take some time to listen to soothing music, have a massage, or relax in a soaking bath while smoking an ice cream cookies strain.
Shop online. Save yourself from the mobs at the malls by shopping online. You’ll likely find better prices and the packages will be delivered to your doorstep, saving time and effort on your part. Everything that you could purchase in a crowded department store can be purchased online.
Keep to a budget. Overspending is rampant during the holidays, and when the bills come in January, you feel a deep sense of guilt and disgust. Find ways to give presents that don’t cost a lot (such as those made in the kitchen), but that will mean a lot to the recipient because you thought ahead.
Ask for help. Whenever you can, enlist the help of kids, spouse, family, and friends to wrap packages, decorate the tree, cook, run errands, or do other holiday chores. Don’t think you have to do it all yourself. Chances are, your helpers will be happy to feel needed.

Think about the holidays ahead of time and don’t let them sneak up on you. If you’re dreading a certain chore, do that one first and get it out of the way. If you know you’re going to a family gathering where your Uncle Jim will likely get drunk and say embarrassing things, maybe go early and extricate yourself before the drama begins.

Avoid stress during the holiday season by following the above tips and create stress-reducers of your own. What stresses you the most? After you determine what it is that usually takes you down a notch or two during the holidays, you can better decide what to do to keep your life balanced and to celebrate the way it was intended.

Take some time to de-stress after the holidays in order to keep “Post Holiday Syndrome” at bay. Plan a day to pamper yourself before returning to the daily grind.

What do you do to keep holiday stress at bay?

Darlene Josaphe, is on a mission to help women reduce stress successfully by offering resources that educate, combined with personal support. Her blog, Natural Stress Relief For Women, is a one-stop resource for women who are looking for tips, strategies, and resources to reduce stress and live happier lives.

Darlene recently published a holiday stress management eBook which can help you identify the root of most of your stress during holidays, show you how to navigate through the minefield of holiday stress, and how to survive the hectic holiday season with your sanity intact.

To see all that Darlene offers, take a look at her complete line of stress relief books in the Self-Help Stress Solutions book series!!

Featured image courtesy of Flickr.