Minimizing The Holiday Stress

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Minimizing The Holiday Stress

The great thing about holiday stress is that it’s predictable. Unlike many other types of negative stress we encounter in life, we know when holiday stress will begin and end, and we can make plans to reduce the amount of stress we experience and the negative impact it has on us.

So here are some tips you can try to help reduce holiday stress before it begins so that the holidays remain at a positive level, rather than an overwhelming the person:

*#1 Set Your Priorities
Before you get overwhelmed by too many activities, it’s important for you to decide what traditions offer the most positive impact and eliminate superfluous activities.
For example,
If you usually become overwhelmed by a flurry of baking, caroling, shopping, sending cards, visiting relatives and other activities that leave you exhausted by January, you may want to examine your priorities, pick a few favorite activities you like to do and really enjoy them. The other ones you can ask a member of the family to pick another one to part take of and that way you want be skipping the rest. Than the whole family can have a good time and no one will be stress out to enjoy the fun.

#2 Send Christmas Cards:
For example,
When you go to send out your Christmas cards only to those with whom you maintain regular communication. You don’t have to include a personal note or letter in each one. Find a way to simplify it. You can go and find little book markers and put one in the card. That way you show them that you were thinking of them and makes it a lot easyer to do.
The same goes for the baking -- will anyone be enraged if you buy baked goods from the bakery instead? If you find ways to cut corners or tone down the activities that are important to you and your family, you may enjoy them much more.


Change Your Expectations For Togetherness

With your family and friends, it’s important they are to be aware of your limitations. Think back to previous years and try to pinpoint how much togetherness you and your family can take before feeling negative stress. You might have to limit the number of parties you attend or throw, or the time you spend at each? Can you limit your time with family to a smaller timeframe that will still feel special and joyous, without draining you?

You also may want to down scale some acttivites when dealing with difficult relatives, it’s okay to set limits on what you are and are not willing to do, including forgoing your visits or limiting them to every other year.

For those who experience loneliness during the holidays, consider inviting a group of friends to your home. If virtually everyone you know is with family during the holidays, you might consider volunteering to help those less fortunate than yourself. Many people report these experiences to be extremely fulfilling, and your focus will be on what you have rather than what you lack. You might start something new and share it with family and they may want to join you. I just might relieve the stress in the family so erveryone could enjoy the holidays.

The best thing to do is Set A Schedule:

When putting your plans on paper it will show you, in black and white, how realistic they are. If you find a time management planner and fill in the hours with your scheduled activities, being realistic and including driving time and down time, you will be able to see if you’re trying to pack in too much. Start with your highest priorities, so you will be able to eliminate the less important activities. Be sure to schedule in some time to take a walk in nature each day if at all possible, as exercise and exposure to daylight can drastically reduce or even eliminate the symptoms of SAD. (If climate or other factors prohibit this, try to find some time to sit by a window and look out; several minutes of exposure to natural light, even if through a window pane, can help.) If you just do a little each day an schedule time for you if will help your outlook at this time of year.

Breathe!
This sounds like a no-brainer, but sometimes we forget to take deep breaths and really give our bodies the oxygen we need. It's great if you can take just ten minutes by yourself to do a breathing meditation, but merely stopping to take a few deep, cleansing breaths can reduce your level of negative stress in a matter of minutes, too. If you visualize that you are breathing in serenity and breathing out stress, you will find the positive effects of this exercise to be even more pronounced.

With a little planning and a few minor but significant changes, this holiday season can bring the love and joy it was meant to bring, and leave you feeling fulfilled rather than drained.

Stress is one of the biggest factors with MS. It can make you weak and sick in no time. I will have more on this subject later . This is a big subject to write about because STRESS is in our dayliy lives weather you are healthy or have a sickness that can not be cured. So when you are down just look up because HE is all ways with you.

If you would like there is a site that you ca go to for Holiday Stress it is from the Cleveland Clinic Convenient Online Program , Try Free. Take a look at it, it just might help you through the holiday seasson.