It is very likely that you, like billions of people around the world, will be negatively affected by this Christmas season. If so, don’t panic. Follow some of the instructions below to help ease your Christmas stress.
1. Realize that Christmas is just one more date and it means absolutely nothing. Beyond myths and personal beliefs, the only thing that represents this date is that planet Earth is in a similar place in its orbit around the Sun to the site it occupied 12 months earlier.
2. Time as we conceive it does not exist. Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity explains how time is merely a human illusion and, although in astrophysics there is a notion of advance, time as such is a lie. Realizing this is one way of putting things in a much broader perspective and relaxing.
3. Practice some stress management techniques. Among the ones that have proven most efficient are the following: learning to meditate, practicing Tai Chi and making an effort to live in the present moment. It is also advisable to have patience, exercise, sleep well, eat healthy and seek a happy life.
4. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. A stressful part of Christmas is that it forces us to do things that we don’t necessarily want to do. The way to avoid this is to learn to say “no”. If you are worried about disappointing your family or friends, remember that the most important thing is your health, both physically and mentally.