Managing Stress During the Holidays

The holiday season can be one of enjoyment, connection and fun. It can also be a time of too much to do, too many places to go, and too many people to deal with leaving us tired, frustrated and even angry.

We can feel stress physically, spiritually, emotionally, socially and intellectually. The first step is to identify what the stressors are for us as individuals. We are all different and experience the same events differently. What is fun for one can be dreadful for another.

Judy Elwood, LMHC, MAC, NCC, an Employee Assistance Program Therapist and Case Manager for the Franciscan Alliance, Northern Indiana Region, offers the following tips on how you can better manage stress this holiday season:

Physical Stress

• Take a short nap - more than 30 minutes and you won’t sleep well at night.
  
• Get some exercise - even a brisk walk will help.
  
• Take it easy on the rich, fatty, sweet foods that are prevalent during the holidays.
  
• Increase portions of healthy food and decrease unhealthy food.
  
• Slow down. You’ll actually accomplish more.
  
• Breathe deeply.
  
• Do things that are relaxing to you.
  
  

Spiritual Stress

• Listen to sacred music of the season.
  
• Say a prayer.
  
• Think about the real reason for the season.
  
• Attend worship.
  
• Read uplifting, spiritual materials.
  
• Help someone in need.
  
• Give presents to those who have little.
  
  

Emotional Stress

• Deal with your emotions in appropriate ways. Don’t push them aside.
  
• Have a good cry, if needed.
  
• Have a good laugh. Don’t take everything so seriously.
  
• Listen to another’s troubles. Give them support.
  
• Call a friend or family member if you feel lonely. Reach out to someone.
  
• Don’t expect perfection from yourself or others whether it be decorating, cooking, baking or even finding the "perfect" present.
  
  

Social Stress

• Go to a party. Stay home if you’d rather.
  
• Don’t do things mainly because you "should." Do things that are important to you and the family.
  
• Start some new traditions but remember and celebrate the old traditions as well.
  
• Share the work. Do it in a fun way.
  
• Sing some carols while you work at all those holiday tasks.
  
• Remember the "bartering" system. I’ll do this for you since I like doing it, and you do this for me because you like it and I do not.
  
  

Intellectual Stress

• Focus on a hobby or a good book to take a break from all the holiday "busyness."
  
• Evaluate your goals.
  
• Return the focus to what is important.
  
• Enjoy the quiet of a starry winter night.
  
• Go to bed early. You’ll think better tomorrow.
  
• Have a lively discussion with friends or family.
  
• Play a board game that requires strategy.
  
  

Got 5 Minutes? Take our Stress and Anxiety Assessment. At the end of the assessment you’ll receive:

• An explanation of stress factors in your life
  
• Tips for relaxing and reducing stress
  
• Links to additional reading
  
  

For more information, read our in-depth report on Stress. >>

Managing Your Stress with Simple Techniques

Stress--noun [stres]:

1. special emphasis or significance attached to something
2. mental, emotional, or physical strain or tension

Stress is a daily factor in most, if not all, of our lives. Stress can provide benefits to an individual's life, being a source of motivation or a stimulant of the sympathetic nervous system, causing an individual to have a "fight or flight" response.

While positives can and do exist in relation to stress, its much more often known as a source of negative feelings like worry, panic, anxiety, depression, and even heart disease.

Avoiding stress whenever possible and learning how to manage the stress that's unavoidable is integral to leading a happy and healthy life. By following the available advice and strageties for dealing with stress, we can help eliminate and manage the things that damage our emotional and physical health.

It's important to first categorize stress as it pertains to internal and external factors. Internal factors include physical things (infections, illness, inflammations) or psychological (intense worry or fear). External factors include adverse physical conditions (pain, hot/cold temperatures) or stressful psychological environments.

Furthermore, A.D.A.M. online health content notes that stress can be chronic (long-term) or acute (short-term). Acute stress generally provokes the fight-or-flight response, where a situation is perceived as an immediate danger. Chronic stress generally refers to those perceived dangers or stresses that occur over time, such as ongoing work pressures or relational problems.

Managing Your Stress

As you begin learning ways to manage your stress, be sure to work at implementing them in your daily routine. Establish mental cues that help you remember how and why you're managing your stresses. Some of the ways to manage your stress include the following:

• Remove yourself from the stressful situation: Give yourself a break from the situation, if possible. Even if it's only for a moment, try to remove yourself from the situation.
• Don't overwhelm yourself: learn to take tasks one at a time; don't concentrate on the entire workload ahead of you.
• Work off stress: pick up an activity such as exercise, bicycling, or running. Physical activity not only relieves stress, but it's good for your overall health!
• Manage stress through meditation or relaxation techniques: meditation and relaxation can help you release your stress and anxiety and renew your feelings of ease.
  
• Use a Coach: ask for someone to assist you in giving perspective and resolving problems.
  

A host of ways to resolve stress exist and are available to you through the internet. For more information on stress symptoms, causes, complications, and treatment, visit the stress category of our A.D.A.M. Online Health Library.

Beat Your Holiday Stress This Year!!

Cars honking, traffic jams, spending money, family running around in the same house. Sound familiar? With another year almost gone we face the holiday stress that comes with every Christmas season.

To help you cope with this month's often overbearing events, take this information and advice from our Hospitalist, Dr. John Szymczak.

What are the health implications of holiday stress?
"Holiday stress generally warrants lots of symptoms including anxiety, depression, overeating, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, high blood pressure and high cortisol levels. Extensive high cortisol levels, which are a steroid hormone released from the adrenal gland, can lead to impaired cognitive performance, blood sugar imbalances, higher blood pressure and many other symptoms."

What are some symptoms of overeating due to stress?
"When you overeat, blood goes to your intestines and your stomache. Because of this, individuals with PVD (peripheral vascular disease) and heart conditions put added stress on their heart. This increases their risk for heart attack, stroke and angina (chest pain)."

What are the best ways to cope?
"Go out of your way to prevent stressful situations, spend time with people you really enjoy and can relax around, eat and drink in moderation and try to save money for things you know you'll need later." Dr. Szymczak also says that volunteering somewhere helps miminize stress. He suggests adopting a pet, noting that people with dogs are three to four times less likely to die of a heart attack, if one were to occur.

For more information about holiday stress, click this link: http://franciscanphysicians.adam.com/content.aspx?productId=117&pid=1&gid=003211