Handling Holiday Stress

So, how was your Thanksgiving dinner yesterday? Did everyone get along and enjoy themselves? Or was it a less-than cheery day for you?

Don't you just love the annual holiday season? No, you say? For many, it's a stress-filled time of tension-packed family interactions, not to mention much shopping and rushing around.

So, for those of you that find this time of year more stressful than joyful, here is a special holiday edition of Here We Are. Now What? that looks at:

Managing Stress During the Holidays.

Stress is a fact of life. In moderate amounts, stress can energize you. It can be "the spice of life." Too much chronic stress, however, can take a toll on you...and even make you sick.

At this time of year, when so many are celebrating the holidays, some may feel the weight of stress even more heavily, especially those who are out of work, under-employed, or unhappy in a job.

For all of those, and anyone else feeling stressed, here are some recommended ways to manage the stress of the holidays:

Breathe - Practice deep slow breathing. You can de-stress yourself by breathing intentionally. Try the 3 Breaths exercise: Breath one is to breathe in a positive intention. Breath two is to exhale any worry or self-doubts. And breath three is to affirm your intention or simply to say "Thank you" to yourself.

Imagine - Visualize what you seek. Conjure it up in your mind's eye so that you can see what you desire in your Life. Create a vision board and put it up in your kitchen or your study so that it is visible every day and helps to draw your focus toward the future you wish to achieve.

Think - Think positive thoughts, generous and loving thoughts. Push negativity aside when it starts, as it often does. Bring your thoughts back to positive ones such as generosity and gratitude. Each morning, start the day with the question "Who can I help today?" End each day by asking yourself "What happened today that was good?"

“Our greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James

Positive - Focus on the positive. By focusing on the positive, you will need to resist the natural tendency we have to shift to negative thinking. While problem solving is a very good thing, dwelling on worries is not.

“It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” – Hans Selye, author of The Stress of Life and Stress Without Distress

Kindness - Every day is an opportunity to make the world a nicer place. The best way to do that is to be kind. Who can you assist today, even in a small way? Greet others with a smile and a wave. Respond to others with kindness. Pick up the phone and call someone who would appreciate it.

Flexibility - Be flexible, be reasonable. With yourself. And with others. Don't over-commit. You can end up disappointing others. And yourself.

Quiet - Find quiet time. If you happen to be on the introverted side of personality, you may find the holidays especially draining. Taking quiet time breaks is a must to recharge your batteries.

Talk - Talk things out with a trusted friend. Express yourself. Don’t bottle feelings up. Get those things that are bothering you out in the open.

Perspective - Step back a few paces from whatever is stressing you right now. Put it into perspective. Ask yourself, Will anyone care about this in five years? Will anyone even remember it?

There is a great deal more that goes into managing your stress (and several more tips will appear in the next edition of this newsletter), but give one or two of these tips a try. Hopefully, your enjoyment of the holiday season will move up a bit as a result.

About the author: Terrence "Terry" Seamon helps his clients to cope with stress in healthy ways.