How you handle seasonal stress will determine if you enjoy the holiday season or not! Do you have a plan to handle your holiday stress? Once it is December 1, the Christmas trees are up in most houses. Music, bells, and mistletoe are everywhere, reminding you of Christmas. This is just the early warning of seasonal stress. The pressure to buy gifts and decorate a flawless home can be maddening and anxiety-inducing. If you feel your belly tighten uncomfortably and your shoulders tense up as stress increases, here are four ways to manage it and still have a good time during the holidays.
1. Acknowledge the Reality of Seasonal Stress
There is peace in knowing that there will be some seasonal stress at this time. It comes from the comparison of the idealized Hallmark movies with pristine perfection and the reality of the messiness, time-consuming nature of true living. Feel excited at the time you get to spend with family, feel the dread that comes with travel times, and the stress associated. Be overwhelmed, but don’t feel like a failure. Everyone is feeling the stress and managing it differently. Just breathe. As many times as you need.
2. The “Energy Budget”: Audit Your Resources to Reduce Seasonal Stress.
Budget your money as expected. Remember to budget your time and emotional resources, also. Determine what is important to you, stuff like work, sleep, and self-care care and do not scrimp on them. Protect your time and energy like a treasure. Commit to only what you have time for. Do not drain yourself emotionally. If you break down, you will miss out on the holidays. Send out cards to the ones you love. For the general multitude, you can hire a virtual assistant to help with this task.
3. Embrace the “Good Enough” Holiday and Release Seasonal Stress.
The holiday season will pass. Everyone will survive it. Do not try to do everything perfectly. That is the first step to developing crippling anxiety. Don’t burn out trying to meet up with social expectations, and do not feel guilty for prioritizing your me-time. The goal of the holiday is connection; focus on this.
If you do not have the emotional energy, do not bake. You need some decorations; choose simple ones. If a pizza night will do, do not go into excessive three-course meals that stress out the host.
4. Pre-Schedule Your Stress Relief
When things get busy in the celebration season, prioritize self-care. Most people let their peace of mind go out the window. You can only pour out on others if your cup is full. Make sure your cup is full during seasons with high pressure. Create a solution for solving stress and schedule it in your to-do list. Remember to take time out for yourself. Take blocks of time where you ban your phone, planning, and anything to do with celebration. Take walks to the park, read a book, or meditate on scriptures. Do not skip your exercise time. A simple 30-minute brisk walk will make a huge difference as a stress reliever.
Final Thoughts
Choose self-care this December and stick to it no matter how many people try to cross your boundaries. This is the only way to minimize stress during the holidays.
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