From the bank-breaking gifts to the diet-destroying parties, the holiday season can easily devolve from being the most wonderful time of the year to being the most stressful. This year, stay calm and balanced by observing some of the following strategies and principles.
Stay Home
The prospect of crazy, delay-filled holiday travel getting you down? Take a ‘stay-cation’ and stay home. Enjoy all of the local activities your area has to offer, or simply stay home, watch holiday movies, listen to Christmas music and eat popcorn. What could be more festive?
Know Your Limits
Reducing holiday stress requires thoughtfulness and pre-planning. Before the main holiday events even begin, set some limits for yourself, write them down, and pledge to keep them. As the holiday season unfolds, take out your list, and remind yourself of your limits and why you made them. Whether it’s limiting yourself to attending only one New Year’s Eve Party or eating only one piece of cake, knowing your limits and sticking to them is always a healthy practice.
Prioritize
When there’s a lot to do it always helps to go through what needs to get done, think about each task, and organize your list by level of importance. As you go down the list, ask yourself: what will happen if it doesn’t get done? You might even find yourself removing some things from the list completely in the process.
Be a Holiday Minimalist
It’s true that most families have yearly holiday traditions and rituals, but don’t be afraid to change it up! Maybe you can forgo the epic light display for a couple of Christmas wreaths this year. These days, e-cards are perfectly acceptable ways of spreading holiday cheer. Making small changes and eliminations can reduce stress in a big way around the holidays.
Don’t Give Up All of Your Current Routine
Hold on to the good habits in your life that work. Don’t stop exercising every day or spending time doing your favorite hobbies. Don’t sacrifice your normal sleep schedule for parties or holiday chores. Having a daily schedule and routine helps to calm and center us, and we need to feel this way around the holidays more than ever.
Practice Gratitude
Isn’t the point of the holiday season to be thankful for what and who is important to us? Make a list of everything you’re grateful for. Express to others that you care about and value them. Research has shown that practicing gratitude can relieve stress and anxiety, and what better time to do it than around the holidays?
If You Break These Guidelines, Don’t Beat Yourself Up
Even if you quit exercising, gain a few pounds, and/or spread yourself too thin, don’t punish yourself for it, as beating yourself up will only stress you out more. After all, the holidays only come one time per year. Start the New Year right by forgiving yourself and moving on.
Related: One Weird Trick To Reduce Your Anxiety In 60 Seconds =>
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/12/13/16-ways-to-beat-holiday-stress
http://christmas.organizedhome.com/reality-check/ten-ideas-stress-free-holiday-season
http://www.cncahealth.com/explore/learn/general-health/top-10-reminders-for-stress-free-living-during-the-holiday-season#.VGryzEsxjwI
