Seven Castles

Holiday Stress

                                      

April 13, 2008

 

The holidays are often depicted as a magical time when people reconcile and dreams come true. The holidays can be fun, but they also can be a source of great stress. It is easy to get stressed out during the holiday season, especially if you try doing too many things at once and expect all of them to turn out perfect. Stress, as most of us know now, can undermine your health by making you more susceptible to illness, and so it is important to know how to minimize stress or at least learn how to handle it better.

 

Holiday stress is caused by heightened states of anxiety that may be caused by financial instability, busy shopping malls, time deadlines, high workloads, depression, relationships, physical demands, or family stress. Signs of holiday stress include feeling irritable, feeling overwhelmed, insomnia, weight gain, headaches, sickness and depression.

 

Stress and many other factors like fatigue, unrealistic expectations, financial constraints, and the inability to be with one's family and friends can cause the "holiday blues". The demands of shopping, parties, family reunions and houseguests also contribute to feelings of tension. People may also develop other stress responses such as headaches, excessive drinking, over-eating and difficulty sleeping. Even more people experience post-holiday letdown. This can result from disappointments during the preceding months compounded by the excess fatigue and stress.

 

Tips to manage stress tend to range from managing money, relationships, workload, time, and emotional health. Common tips include: set a budget; plan ahead; seek support; eat and sleep well; physical exercise; look past differences; have realistic expectations – not perfection; beat the shopping rush and seek professional help.

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年04月13日 星期日 06:24】【注册】【打印】