Dealing With the Pressures of Holiday Stress
By Stephen R. Farris
We all know how stressful life can be at times. For some reason, it always seems that our stress levels increase dramatically around the holiday season. Our workload at the job tends to increase more due to deadlines that need to be met before Thanksgiving and Christmas. It usually means longer hours spent at work too.
If you have kids, there are the holiday parties you have to take them to and on their time off from school, you have to find things for them to occupy their time with and make extra trips to the grocery store more than usual.
Last, but not least, cooking and shopping. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas require lots of time in the kitchen preparing all that food for the festivities. You're stressed about meals not coming out right, or if everyone will like what you've prepared. After Thanksgiving it's time to start shopping for Christmas gifts, in which you have to deal with traffic, crowded stores, decorating the house and wrapping all of those presents. It's enough to literally drive a person insane.
However, there are ways to better deal with holiday stress.
Nothing is Perfect
We all want everything to turn out just perfect during the holidays. At least that's the plan. With such a big goal, it's no wonder we stress out, but if you take a moment -- and a few deep breaths -- and realize that nothing is perfect in life. Always do your best, but learn to accept the results both good and bad.
See the Bigger Picture
Face it. The grocery store will always be packed more than usual at certain times of the year. Traffic is always going to be hectic since everyone is trying to get the same places as you all at once. In a nutshell, just go with the flow. Keep a positive attitude even when everything around you seems to be going haywire. Everyone has to wait their turn in life. Hey, if that line in the grocery store is flowing all the way back to the frozen food section, take that time to relax a bit. Strike up a conversation with the person in front or back of you. It'll also be a great way to pass the time until you reach your destination. The cashier!
Be Kind
Yes, be kind. Remember, you're not the only one having to deal with holiday stress. It's very easy to yell at the person that pulled out in front of you, but what's even less stressful is just letting it go. What happened won't change a thing.
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