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While the holiday season is a time of joy, parties and delicious food, it can also be hectic and stressful. This time of the year can mean trying to figure out how to attend every holiday party you’re invited to, decorating your home, navigating through crowds at stores, fighting with traffic on the roads or at airports, worrying about getting every loved one the perfect gift and wondering how to pay for it all.
Worrying about getting everything done in time, under budget and perfectly, in just a span of a few weeks, can put a damper on the holidays for you and cloud your ability to enjoy the season and remember what it’s really about.
Plus, stress and anxiety can negatively affect your overall health.
Stress can cause headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, an upset stomach and sleep issues. It can also impact your mood and trigger depression, anxiety, irritability, anger and restlessness.
It has also been linked to over and under-eating, drug and alcohol abuse, tobacco use, social withdrawal and angry outbursts. All of this sounds like a recipe for a quite miserable holiday season.
Get into the spirit of the holidays and keep your stress at bay with these tips:
Create a game plan: Running late, realizing you forgot an ingredient, or running out to buy a last-minute gift can trigger stress. Take time before you run around; plan everything out and get organized to ensure you’re not rushing around at the last minute.
Pull out your calendar and schedule what days you’re going gift shopping, food shopping, what parties you’re invited to, when you are going to wrap gifts and anything else you have going on during the next few weeks.
You can plan ahead what dishes you’ll make for parties and all of the ingredients you need. You may be able to save some time by preparing dishes ahead of time and storing them in the fridge or freezer until party time.
When it comes to shopping, plan what gifts fit in your budget and what you’d like to purchase for your loved ones – sticking to a budget will help ease money-related stress.
Money is a major stressor, especially during the holidays. Digging yourself into a hole by overspending will create stress and anxiety even when the season is over.
Be realistic: There seems to be a big emphasis on trying to make the holidays perfect, but putting that kind of pressure on yourself can leave you stressed out and unable to enjoy the season.
As much as you may want your gifts, parties, food and decorations to be perfect, people do run late, stores run out of stuff, family members may get on your nerves, your turkey may be a bit dry, schedules and parties may conflict with each other — that’ s all OK; take it easy, be gentle with yourself and others, deep breaths, relax, laugh.
Going with the flow and enjoying yourself in the moment will help you have a more memorable season and forget about the less-than-perfect details.
Take care of yourself: Holiday stress can cause you to fall into bad habits and put your well-being on the back burner.
It’s important to maintain your sleep schedule, exercise regimen and healthy diet—it will help keep illness, stress and depression at bay. Taking care of yourself includes avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking, excessive drinking or eating too much. Managing stress in your life can help avoid these habits.
Ask for help: If you’ve tried to manage stress and anxiety, but are still persistently feeling sad, anxious or depressed, you may be dealing with more than holiday-related stress. If you’re having trouble sleeping, feeling irritable or hopeless, or experiencing physical side effects of stress, they may signal you could benefit from seeking professional help from your doctor or mental health professional.
Now get back to your preparations, but relax and enjoy it.
