Holiday season brings some of the most memorable moments of joy, love, and laughter. Unfortunately, it can also bring a lot of stress and anxiety. This is not something to fear but to embrace as everything great in life never comes easy. That does not mean you need to be stressed out to achieve the ultimate joy with your family during the holidays. It only means that there is a lot of preparation and work that needs to get done and with the extra work usually comes with extra stress and anxiety.
Let’s discuss some essential methods of keeping your stress and anxiety in balance, so you can be your best self and enjoy the best holiday season to remember.
Patience & Preparation
Mindset or mentality is of the utmost importance before undertaking a task like preparing a holiday for your family or friends. Between all the things like planning, decorating, cooking, and shopping, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed and stressed out.
Approaching life with patience in general is a key ingredient to happiness and success. This is especially important when dealing with the holidays and family. It can also be hard to be patient when you don’t know what to do or what’s next that needs to be done. In this case, the best way to reduce stress is to avoid the stress altogether. Prepare yourself a checklist of everything you need to do and create a timetable to achieve each task. It is much easier to remain calm when there is a plan of action.
- Create a checklist for everything you need to do.
- Fit everything within a schedule with reasonable timeframe to achieve each task – Leave extra time to allow for errors, emergencies, and destressing. As the saying goes, “under promise and over deliver”. This applies to yourself too, and assuming realistic expectations will help you get ahead of schedule and reduce stress.
- Expect the unexpected – Even when things are not turning out as you expect due to unexpected distractions, emergencies, or important tasks that never made it to your to do list, maintain your composure, remain patient and adjust accordingly. Having patience will usually allow for clarity of any situation and use a cerebral approach to tackling any challenge.
Breathing
When the going gets tough, sometimes the best thing you can do is simply take a breath, slow down, regroup, then once you regain clarity, continue completing your tasks.
Breathing has so many health benefits, it literally keeps you alive. There are some useful techniques to destress using breathing exercises.
- Get into a comfortable position – Sitting or standing, it does not matter as long as you can feel relaxed
- Close your eyes and breath using your upper chest and diaphragm
- With timed intervals, slowly breath in through your nose, exhale through your mouth
- Many find it effective to think about breathing in good energy and exhaling any thought of stress
- Repeat the process until you feel refreshed
Breathing can help circulate oxygen through your bloodstream which can reduce stress. It’s a known fact. Also, you will surely want to be breathing in fresh air although it’s often too cold to open a window or to go outside. Consider treating your home to an air purifier which will always ensure your home has clean healthy air to breath. Air purifiers will filter out dust, allergens, and odor particles. A definite must have for any home, especially one with a pet.
Eating
Another way to manage stress and maintain a high level of energy is to be methodical about what you eat. Tons of coffee and sugar will give you a quick fix but result in your body crashing and potentially even headaches. You are what you eat, and during a time where you have a lot to do, it is vital to maintain healthy eating habits. Go crazy once holiday begins and it is time to imbibe in the glory from all your work and preparation. Some healthy snacks that will help you sustain energy are bananas, leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds, avocados, sweet potatoes, beans, and quinoa. Staying away from processed foods altogether will increase your mood, energy level, and stamina.
Exercise
This is a no brainer, as exercising keeps you feeling healthy and full of energy. Even 15-30 minutes a day using your exercise equipment will keep your blood flowing and reduce stress. Exercising is one of the best destress activities for shedding anxiety and feel like a champion.
Sleep & Routine
By now you can see a pattern to staying healthy and relaxed. Sleeping of course is one of the most important things a person can do and a great stress reliever. There is no need to repeat a bunch of science explaining why, you already know this. However, it’s worth noting that you should create a routine for yourself and hold yourself accountable to it. There’s always going to be a million things to do, but when it’s time to sleep, you should be sleeping.
Not only will getting the proper sleep reduce your stress and uplift your mood, but it will also enhance your brain power allowing you to complete your tasks quicker and better.
There are 3 things you can do to get a good night’s sleep.
- Make sure your face, hands, and body are clean, and wear clean pajamas (or whatever you sleep in).
- Make sleeping part of your daily routine so you go to sleep on time. Plus, your body and mind become accustomed to daily routines (including work and sleep) and will result in reduced stress.
- Own a good mattress. There is nothing like sleeping on a mattress that fits your sleeping style and preference. If you don’t like your mattress, it’s the holidays and you’re working hard to make it happen. Treat yourself.
Shopping
There is no doubt that you will have to go to all kinds of stores in preparation for holidays. From the grocery to the tree farm and everything in between, it’s easy to get stressed out. This is where planning and timing is crucial.
- Prepare lists of what you need to buy between preparing holiday and a list of gifts to buy.
- Avoid peak trade times like weekends and evenings to stay away from long lines and too many shoppers.
- Do not take the kids, go alone.
- Buy something for yourself too. Shopping for yourself is one of the best ways to relieve stress.
It’s also the best time to buy the perfect gifts for your loved ones. You will find awesome deals already on just about everything plus there are cool promotions like this BUYDIG $1000 VISA Gift Card Giveaway.
To Party, or not to Party
That is the question. When holiday season comes, many play politics with their parties. If it’s not somewhere you want to be, then don’t go, and don’t think twice about it. You have enough to do for your own household. It’s not really a big deal anyway.
Don’t forget about YOU
When you’re hustling into the holidays trying to make everything perfect, it’s easy to neglect a few daily routines that you enjoy. Whatever stress relieving activities you enjoy, whether it’s watching TV or going to the gym, make time for it.
When feeling overwhelmed it’s often easy to forget things. If you can catch yourself feeling stressed out or anxious, it’s really helpful to have a list of your favorite techniques to manage stress to refer to.
Lastly, don’t ever forget how awesome you are.
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