Holidays can be times of great joy and building shared memories. They can also be times of great stress, blues, and depression. The quality of your holidays depends, in large measure, on your own behavior. Here are some tips to reduce holiday-related stress.
• Adjust your schedule to accommodate the additional activities of the holiday season.
• Set priorities and pare down your expectations of what you should do.
• Avoid comparing your situation to idealized images of what the holidays should be. Your childhood memories, or holiday songs and movies, are not the best measure of reality.
• Set reasonable limits: on what you can spend, on what you will buy your children, on how many parties you will attend. Learn to say “no” to people who are asking you to take on additional responsibilities. Remember that your children’s wishes are not your commands. If your kids think they need a certain toy to be happy, then you can bet that the toy will not bring the wished for happiness.
• Ask for help. Tell your children that the more they help, the less stressed you are, and the happier holiday they will have.
• Don’t expect to make everyone happy.
• If you have a blended family that requires several holiday celebrations, try to combine as many of these as possible, and limit the scope of the others.
• Accept reality. Be true to yourself. If you are not feeling cheery, do not fake it. If you do not like someone, don’t pretend that all is well. The pretense takes enormous emotional energy and induces more stress. (But, shield children from your animosities.)
• If you do not want to be alone on the holidays, don’t wait for someone to invite you. Take the initiative. But if you are being asked to join in festivities when you don’t feel like it, ask for understanding while declining the activity.
• Pay attention to your health. Get enough sleep. Avoid excessive amounts of coffee and alcohol. Plan time for exercise and relaxation.
For additional tips and videos on managing holiday blues and stress, and to learn the difference between holiday blues and holiday stress, click here and select General Psychology and Mental Health.