Secrets to dealing with holiday stress
While the holidays can be a time for fun and laughter, they’re also the most stressful days out of the year. Party planning, gift shopping, and in-laws are just a few of the reasons you may suffer from a stress-related breakdown during the holiday months. There’s a lot to be done to ensure you keep the holiday spirit alive, but it’s not worth having a breakdown over. It’s important for your health and sanity to step back and find ways to de-stress. Check out the tips below for surviving the holidays without driving yourself nuts.
Take time for yourself
You may be busy doing things for other people during these months, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect yourself and your needs. Make sure you are taking time out of every day to do things that benefit your health and well-being. Go for your usual gym session or schedule that much-needed massage. Finding the perfect gift for your niece is not worth losing your sanity over or skipping your healthy fitness routines. Let your friends and family know that for at least an hour every day, you will be unreachable. Turn off your cell phone notifications and enjoy your peace and quiet time.
Learn to say no
With so much on your plate, it’s easy to stretch yourself thin when preparing for the holidays. Learn to say “no” when others ask favors of you that will add to your stress. If you are a natural people-pleaser, this can be tough to do. We want to make our friends and family happy, but we can’t be everything for everyone. Decide what is most important for you and your loved ones and focus on getting those tasks done. Yes, you might be a great seamstress, but don’t feel pressured to say yes to sewing your niece’s school play costume when you’ve got your own matters to tend to. Setting boundaries will reduce the stress you feel from pleasing other people.
Forget perfection
You may feel pressure to ensure your family has a perfect holiday season. Finding the perfect gift, making the perfect holiday dinner, and making the house look perfect for the holidays is a lot to live up to. Don’t lose sight of what the holidays are truly about, which is spending time with your loved ones. Perfect doesn’t exist in the real world, so why should it apply to the holidays? Sometimes “good enough” will do, especially if it means you get to relax more. So what if the star on your Christmas tree doesn’t sit perfectly straight? If it still brings you joy to look at, then that’s all that matters. Let go of perfectionism and redirect that energy to enjoying the holiday season with your loved ones.
