Aim for More Joy and Less Holiday Stress This Year

If you feel overwhelmed during the holiday season, you aren’t alone. While this time of the year is often filled with joy, it’s often also filled with holiday stress.

Holiday stress has many causes, not the least of which is the busyness that seems to last from Thanksgiving through the beginning of the year. Add holiday parties, gift-buying, elaborate meals with family and friends, and church functions to the list — it’s a recipe for chaos! No wonder we’re stressed.

Pause real quick and take a deep breath. This year, you can have a holiday season that’s less stressful and more joyful.

How Stress Affects Your Health

Everyone experiences stress at some time or another. It’s simply a fact of life. But stress can be both good and bad.

A small amount of stress can be a positive motivator for you to accomplish a task or tackle a fear. That’s the kind of stress you experience as you prepare to give a presentation at work or take a test in school.

Chronic stress, on the other hand, can take a toll on your physical and mental health. When you’re stressed, the body releases stress hormones that can cause your muscles to tense up, your heart to beat faster, your breathing to become shallow, your tummy to churn, and your brain to shift into overdrive.

When this happens, you won’t feel wonderful in the moment, but over time, those effects can damage your blood vessels, heart, and other parts of the body.

If stress is inevitable, what can you do to protect your health? Effectively managed stress has less of an effect on the body, so it’s important to build in healthy habits that help you lower stress. This holiday season, give yourself a gift by implementing those strategies.

5 Steps for Managing Stress During the Holiday Season

You want to enjoy spending time with your family during the holidays and not feel overwhelmed by stress, right? Practice these habits to make that a reality:

1. Set boundaries. You don’t have to — and shouldn’t — say yes to every invitation you receive. At the beginning of the holiday season, take a look at what’s ahead. Determine your priorities and put those items on your calendar. Remember to also include ample downtime amidst the festivities, along with time to accomplish your usual to-dos. Financial boundaries are essential, too. Set a budget for how much you can spend on gifts, food, and other holiday expenses, then stick to it.
2. Stick with a healthy routine. Exercise might just seem like one more item on your schedule this time of year, but being physically active can help you manage the stress the season brings. Aim to get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days, such as a brisk walk around the neighborhood before dinner, leaf-raking, or even decking the halls — if you get your heart rate up while doing it. Keep up with other healthy habits as well, including eating a balanced diet, getting enough quality sleep, and limiting your alcohol intake.
3. Find meaningful ways to relax. What types of activities help you feel most relaxed? Include an ample dose of those during the holidays! You may find rest and rejuvenation from meditation, deep breathing, prayer, exercise, time with friends, or a long soak in the tub. You may need even more of this type of self-care as the end of the year approaches, so listen to your body and give it the attention it needs.
4. Forget about perfection. Everywhere you turn these days, you see images and videos of lives that look simply perfect. Remember that social media is a mirage. People carefully curate what they post online, creating an unrealistic, heavily filtered depiction of their lives. You may find it helpful to simply log off social media during the holidays. Instead of being envious of others’ perfection, revel in the imperfect — that’s often where the joy is!
5. Lean into support. If you regularly see a therapist to navigate mental health challenges, such as anxiety or depression, don’t skip those appointments during the holidays. Similarly, if you feel overly stressed, sad, or anxious, don’t hesitate to talk with a health professional, who can guide you to the resources you need. During the late fall and winter, it’s possible to experience seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression that’s related to fewer hours of sunlight.

Our biggest tip for making the holiday season less stressful is to let yourself soak up the joy! Find moments of quiet and calm, and focus on what makes you happiest.

Could you benefit from extra support for your mental health? Our Behavioral Health Integration Team offers personalized care for patients covered by Medicare.