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The holiday season can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. With some planning and preparation, you can spend your holiday time with family and friends without overworking yourself, stressing out about the gifts you haven’t bought yet, or feeling guilty about not getting everything done at work before the holiday break hits. Try these 5 tips to enjoy the holiday season without burning out before it even begins!
Let’s Destress the Holidays
The holiday season is known for being stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! Here are nine tips to help you stay healthy and avoid unnecessary stress this holiday season.
1) Stress Can Affect How You Eat
If you’re under stress, one of your most common coping mechanisms is to go for comfort food. But you might not realize that stress can also affect how your body stores food. Cortisol, commonly known as the stress hormone, is designed to help our bodies survive. It triggers chemical reactions in our body that signal fat storage and increase appetite, which helps us survive when faced with stressful situations.
Although it’s helpful if you are trying to keep yourself fed during famine or drought, these same reactions are what make it more difficult for some people to manage their weight on a daily basis. Since holidays are some of the most stressful times of the year, learning how to navigate holiday eating is especially important for helping avoid gaining excess weight over winter break!
2) Learn How to Cope
Holiday stress is as much of a fact of life as turkey and mashed potatoes. In order to avoid putting your health at risk, it’s essential to learn some coping mechanisms before you actually need them. This can be as simple as making time for fun with family and friends, but if those things aren’t really your thing or they just don’t do it for you anymore, there are plenty of other ways to cope with holiday stress.
One way might be meditation; others might include journaling, yoga, exercise—there are many more options out there besides what’s listed here, so find what works best for you. Just remember that sometimes getting away from the hustle and bustle of it all can help us relax in new ways.
3) Identify What Makes You Feel Good
Take time to identify what really makes you feel good. Maybe it’s an amazing book, a warm cup of tea, or a deep conversation with a loved one. Whatever it is, take some time to get in touch with yourself and determine how you can best maintain your sense of well-being during these hectic holiday seasons.
Make sure you recognize and take care of your emotional health as well as your physical health by taking frequent breaks from shopping and quality time with family and friends. If you focus on ensuring your mental health isn’t suffering, all else will follow. You’ll be less stressed, more productive at work, and truly able to enjoy all that the holidays have to offer.
4) Set Realistic Goals
It’s tempting to say “I want to relax” and “take it easy” over a break, but that sets you up for failure. Instead, set achievable goals for how much work you can get done and what times of day you’ll work—and then stick to them. Set deadlines for yourself so that your work stays on track with time to spare.
Make sure your family is on board with helping out around the house or by giving you space during holiday parties or gatherings. You don’t have to be superwoman! Work smarter, not harder. It might seem hard, but get eight hours of sleep a night. Getting adequate sleep is key when you have a lot going on in your life. This is a realistic and measurable goal that you can control.
5) Exercise Regularly
Exercise and movement help to relieve stress. Keeping active has proven benefits for mood, weight, blood pressure, sleep quality, and many other health markers. Adding physical activity into your daily routine can reduce stress levels by up to 50%. Exercise allows you to release endorphins which are your brain’s feel-good chemicals that not only make you feel happier but also relieve some of your pain.
But don’t think exercise is only helpful when it comes to relieving stress; exercise can also help reduce anxiety if you do it consistently. The more frequently you engage in exercise, the more likely you will be able to prevent anxiety symptoms and stress from the holidays.
6) Shop Online & Early
There’s nothing like dealing with Black Friday crowds to give you stress. So why not shop online as soon as those holiday sales start rolling in? Online shopping is also much easier than shopping in stores and allows you to avoid hoards of people. There are tons of great deals throughout December and you can just drop your packages off at your local mailing store.
Shopping online can be just as stressful though if you aren’t prepared. Make sure you have clear delivery expectations on any items you purchase to make sure you get your purchases on time (which avoids stress!). Additionally, make sure that gifts are wrapped and ready to go once they arrive at your doorstep.
7) Plan You Time
If you’re feeling frazzled about how you’ll manage to fit everything in—the shopping, travel, parties, family time, and holiday prep—don’t panic! Plan to schedule some relaxation time into your calendar. Everyone deserves it. If you don’t make plans to take care of yourself now, you will burn out later.
You may even find that during your me-time is when ideas are hatched that will help prevent further stress later on. Take a breath, give yourself a break and relax. Your holidays will be better for it. Remember that an ounce of prevention really does mean a pound of cure. You deserve it after all.
8) Set (& Stick To) a Budget
Setting some kind of budget is key to maintaining financial responsibility during any given month, but it’s especially critical around the holiday season. Holidays are hectic enough without piling on expenses you can’t afford or pay for during the next year.
Start by setting up an account specifically for holiday spending—don’t use your normal checking account unless you plan on overdrawing it. If possible, set up automatic transfers to bring funds into that account before bills get paid; that way if anything unexpected comes up (like an unplanned gift), money won’t be drained from other accounts.
9) Ask for Help Often
It can be easy to overdo it during stressful times, but we need to remember that we don’t have to do everything on our own. Reach out to your social network for support if you are feeling overwhelmed. Whether it’s your best friend or your neighbor down the street, asking someone you trust can be helpful when trying to stay positive during crazy holiday seasons. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! If they say no, move on and ask someone else. Getting a no is sometimes all you need to realize what you really want from those around you. They might even surprise you by saying yes after all.
It’s also worth mentioning that asking for help can have unexpected benefits as well. It often leads to strengthening your relationships with friends and family members that you may not have been in touch with otherwise. Plus it can give some insight into how others view you, which isn’t necessarily bad news either!
Let’s Reduce Your Holiday Stress!
There’s no escaping it—the holiday season can be very stressful. But by following these tips, you’ll be able to enjoy yourself and your time with family and friends without losing your mind or getting sick. Remember, stress is an emotion that only lasts as long as you let it stick around. So take some time to plan ahead, manage expectations, and make sure not to overdo it on all of the delicious treats! And remember: Most importantly…Relax!
