The Christmas holidays They are theoretically perfect celebrations: you meet with family and friends, almost all jobs give holidays, gifts are exchanged … So, Why do they generate so much stress and anxiety?
The key is in one word: compromises. Christmas is essentially a social celebration based on commitments, many times forced.
You have an obligation to celebrate with family, friends and co-workers abundant meals, dinners or meetings, and some of them you have to organize. And agree with people who, perhaps, you do not get along or do not support, despite being family …
And then there are gifts: expenses, searches, that toy that is out of stock, that television that has gotten me wrong and I have to return, that iPhone that has been lost in transport and will not arrive on time …
The Christmas holidays have become a mountain of social obligations, which they generate stress and anxiety.
Kathi Cameron, sports psychologist, and Greg Docter, psychologist, explain on the health website Activebeat Some tips to avoid stress and anxiety at Christmas.
To sleep
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is exhausting, so rule number 1 is to get as much sleep as possible these days. Between 7 and 9 hours, especially before an important celebration.
Getting plenty of rest reduces stress, improves mood, and relaxes nerves. It will help you better face the challenges of Christmas.
Learn to say no
Many people don’t know how to say no. But it is important to avoid stressful situations.
If you have been busy all day without stopping and a family member or friend invites you to have a drink but you don’t have the strength, tell him no, and explain why. You will understand. To avoid feeling guilty, instead of canceling the proposal, postpone it for another time.
The same applies to other commitments, including Christmas whims of the children and the couple.
Don’t look for perfection
Not always the Christmas dinner or the gifts of Kings can be perfect. Perfection, by definition, does not exist, and it is medically known that perfectionists experience stress, frustration, and fits of anger.
Don’t set the bar too high and learn to accept and even see the funny side of imperfection.
Go out for a walk
Even if it’s cold, if you feel overwhelmed or have spent the whole day at home preparing Christmas dinner or browsing gift websites, go out for a walk.
A walk clears the mind, tones the body, improves mood and makes you rest better. It is an anti-stress activity.
Eat green
At Christmas we abuse sweets, nougat, chocolates, and caloric foods, and that promotes depression and fatigue.
Do not forget to eat plenty of vegetables among all those feasts (or better yet, within them), to counteract the aforementioned effects.
Manage a budget, and do not get out of it
Many of the cases of christmas stress are associated with Christmas overspending: food, gifts, travel …
Before the holidays prepare a budget, and try to stick to it as much as possible. That will avoid anger and scares when the January bills arrive …
Reserve time for yourself
We have talked about commitments: with family, with friends, with children … but mentally everyone needs time for himself.
In these parties reserve a time every day, or whenever you can something you like to you. Read, watch a series, listen to music, take a hot bath for an hour, play that video game that you have been putting off for months … Your brain will thank you.
Do not be influenced by society
Television, Christmas movies, advertising, Christmas specials, They try to impose a standardized way of enjoying Christmas on us.
They impose on us the obligation to enjoy harmonious family dinners, emotional reunions, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Eve parties as a couple …
But the real world is very different. At this time there are many people who feel lonely, who miss deceased family or friends, who do not have close family, and other circumstances.
And to force ourselves to feel the same thing that advertising, or social networks, transmits to us, generates stress and anxiety.
According to these doctors, It is perfectly normal not to feel joy at Christmas, or not want to celebrate the holidays as society imposes. The important thing is to accept what we feel and learn to live with it, we must not force ourselves to change these feelings for others that others impose on us.
If you follow these tips, you will reduce the stress and anxiety of the Christmas holidays, and you will be able to face those commitments with more courage, and even enjoy them.
Good cheer … and happy holidays!