Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #6 – Stick to a Budget

Before you go shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend on gifts and other items, and then stick to your budget. If you don’t, you could feel anxious and tense for months as you struggle to pay bills.

Don’t try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Try some alternatives to keep yourself on financial track. Donate to a charity in someone’s name, consider giving homemade gifts, or start a gift exchange to limit the number of gifts you must buy. Some people even choose to forego expensive gift giving and opt for memory-making activities, like mini-vacations.

What creative way will you find to stick to your budget this year?

Photo: Dollar © by Images_of_Money

Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #5 – Unplug the Technology

Despite popular belief, the world will NOT end if you turn off your phone(s), computer, television, and other electronic devices to enjoy some real human interaction. Even if all you do is spend some quiet, uninterrupted time with yourself and your thoughts, it will be well worth it.

While technology has its place in our day-to-day lives, it can interrupt the joy of the season. Do yourself a favor and step away from the technology, if even for just an hour or two. Read a book, take a walk, cuddle in front of a cozy fire, sip some hot tea or cocoa. And enjoy!

Plug © by Samuel M. Livingston

Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #4 – Learn to Say No

Saying “no” is an art form. We are so programmed to not hurt others’ feelings that we sometimes end up hurting ourselves the most in the end. By saying yes to everything and everyone else during this busy time, you could be setting yourself up for feeling resentful and overwhelmed.

Instead of looking at it as saying “no” to others, think of it as saying “yes” to yourself. Yes to taking care of yourself. Yes to only doing things you really want to do. Yes to a holiday season that is more manageable. What’s not to like about yes?

Photo: JUST SAY NO © by marc falardeau

Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #3 – Work It Out

Many studies have proven that exercise makes a person feel better through the release of endorphins, and it works out the stressful tension in the muscles and recharges your energy levels. To combat the effects of stress this holiday season, try relaxing exercises such as stretching, yoga, or tai chi. Just a few extra minutes of exercise a day can benefit your overall health.

A way to add in more exercise is to park as far as away from the shopping centers as possible. Don’t drive around looking for the closest place to the front door. Park away from the crowds. The extra exercise from walking is a health benefit – to say nothing of the fact that you might avoid a fender bender in a congested parking area – a stressful situation in itself.

Photo: Yoga at Tilden11 © by Greenbelt Alliance

Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #2 – Skip the Commercials

‘Tis the season to set that DVR lest you fall prey to advertisers who spout untruths about what truly makes a gal happy. If you read between the lines, it might be easy to believe you cannot possibly be happy unless you get… (insert whatever the hot product of the season is here).

Advertisers count on the emotional pull of their messages, which tug at our heart strings, tap into any lack or emptiness we feel, and lead us to their conclusion that their product or service will make everything okay. Sure there are products and services that can truly help us, and ones we just want. But most really don’t live up to the hype.

Do yourself a favor this holiday season and skip those commercials. Record your favorite shows on your DVR and fast forward through the advertisements promising more than you know they could possibly deliver.

Photo: Remote Control, Television – TV-controller © by espensorvik

Managing Your Stress During the Holidays and Beyond: Tip #1 – Accept What Is

“Too often, we have a mindset that the holidays are supposed to be a happy time, not a stressful time. Well, it can be both happy and stressful. Acknowledge that and take it in stride.”

— Donald E. Williams, Ph.D.

That time of year is upon us again. Just as we wrap up all those Thanksgiving leftovers, the hustle and bustle of the December holidays sets in. Shopping lists, decorations, parties to attend, meals to plan, family members to visit, and the list goes on. More to do and less time to do it. Expectations of the “perfect” celebration or the exoneration of past imperfect ones.

For many of us, the holidays can be source of stress. But moreso because of the expectations we place upon ourselves, which are often driven by the messages we hear and see (and feel) from others, like family members or the media.

When the messages of being perfect, having it all together, and doing what you are “supposed” to do this holiday season get too much, just stop and take a breath. Today’s tip is simply…

Accept What is

Take a moment to just BE with what is, regardless of what it is. Accept that:

• There are only 24 hours in a day.
• The holiday season will come and go.
• Plans can change.
• Your worth (and worthiness) is NOT tied to the gifts you give, the money you spend, or the amount of decorations on your lawn.

Is there something else you need to accept right now to make your holidays a little less stressful?

Photo: christmas 2007 © by paparutzi