Motivation for Stress
Stress, depression and the holidays:
Tips for coping by the Mayo Clinic
The holiday season often brings unwelcome guests — stress and depression. And it’s no wonder. The holidays present a dizzying array of demands — parties, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining, to name just a few. But with some practical tips, you can minimize the stress that accompanies the holidays. You may even end up enjoying the holidays more than you thought you would.
Tips to prevent holiday stress and depression
1. Acknowledge your feelings. If someone close to you has recently died or you can’t be with loved ones, realize that it’s normal to feel sadness and grief. It’s OK to take time to cry or express your feelings. You can’t force yourself to be happy just because it’s the holiday season.
2. Reach out. If you feel lonely or isolated, seek out community, religious or other social events. They can offer support and companionship. Volunteering your time to help others also is a good way to lift your spirits and broaden your friendships.
3. Be realistic. The holidays don’t have to be perfect or just like last year. As families change and grow, traditions and rituals often change as well. Choose a few to hold on to, and be open to creating new ones. For example, if your adult children can’t come to your house, find new ways to celebrate together, such as sharing pictures, emails or videos.
4. Set aside differences. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don’t live up to all of your expectations. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. And be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Chances are they’re feeling the effects of holiday stress and depression, too.
5. Stick to a budget. Before you go gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend. Then stick to your budget. Don’t try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Try these alternatives: Donate to a charity in someone’s name, give homemade gifts or start a family gift exchange.
6. Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your menus and then make your shopping list. That’ll help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten ingredients. And make sure to line up help for party prep and cleanup.
7. Learn to say no. Saying yes when you should say no can leave you feeling resentful and overwhelmed. Friends and colleagues will understand if you can’t participate in every project or activity. If it’s not possible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your agenda to make up for the lost time.
8. Don’t abandon healthy habits. Don’t let the holidays become a free-for-all. Overindulgence only adds to your stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack before holiday parties so that you don’t go overboard on sweets, cheese or drinks. Continue to get plenty of sleep and physical activity.
9. Take a breather. Make some time for yourself. Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may refresh you enough to handle everything you need to do. Take a walk at night and stargaze. Listen to soothing music. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind, slowing your breathing and restoring inner calm.
10. Seek professional help if you need it. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling persistently sad or anxious, plagued by physical complaints, unable to sleep, irritable and hopeless, and unable to face routine chores. If these feelings last for a while, talk to your
Stress – It’s not how you handle it,
but how you channel it!
Everyone has stress in there lives and there is no magic pill that is going to make it go away. Some people choose to use relief methods that ultimately harm them such as drugs, (prescription or illegal) or alcohol. This is only a temporary fix and usually increases stress in the future. Learning how to channel your stress or turn the stress into positive energy is the only way to deal with it.
Easier said then done!
This is one way that I deal with stress; you might want to try it!
1) Try to figure out the causes of the stress – many times it is more than one thing that is stressing you out. Relationships, finance, or work….Write them down.
Click Here for More Ways to Relax
2) Once you have them on paper, try to figure out which one, if any, you can begin to resolve.
3) You don’t know if you can fix it right away, but plan to immediately (and that is the key). For a general example; write down “stress at work”. What is causing the stress? Think about what is causing it. Lack of communication. How can you communicate better or get others to communicate with you? Since you can’t control other people you need to create a new way to communicate for everyone and come up with a plan for implementing it. NOW your mind is on the solution to resolve the stress and not on the stress itself. If you are stuck, go online and research how to communicate better. Still keep in mind the solution and channeling your energy off the worry that causes stress.
4) Work on it until you are feeling good about it and then do something you like to do to relax. Zone out on a movie, do a hobby, or exercise. What works great for some is starting a new project. Be creative and focus on positive energy to continue relieving stress.
Click Here for More Ways to Relax
Channel the stress into good energy, use it to motivate you and have fun with your creative ideas! Hope this helps you get through the week.
Other Related Topics that could help you through the week:
Healthy Ideas
Relationships
Motivation and Success
