By Sierra Rainford
Have you ever felt the need to get someone the perfect gift? How about feeling the need to be the perfect mom, dad, friend, sibling, child, employee, etc.? Holidays can be particularly stressful for many people. From the expectations others have of us to our expectations of ourselves, it seems that perfection is strived for but never quite reached. Finding the perfect gift for our loved ones and making the perfect meal all have the stigma behind it. Feeling the need to meet these expectations can be quite stressful. Managing stress around the holidays can be particularly difficult, but with some guidance, it can be achieved.
“A recent survey by the American Psychological Association found that 41% of U.S. adults experience increased stress levels around the holidays, while 52% find their stress levels remain the same, and only 7% feel less stressed this time of year” (Rodriguez, N.d). Stress management oftentimes looks a lot like self-care. This can mean taking a bath, reading a book, taking a nap, or any other number of things. Practicing mindfulness and leaning on your social supports can be particularly helpful. “To feel less stressed and more connected this holiday season, we suggest trying three mindfulness practices” (Shattell and Johnson, 2017). These practices may include meditation, prayer, and grounding exercises. “Stress coping methods are the physiological, cognitive, behavioral and psychological methods to deal with stress” (Kassymova et al., 2018).
The biggest help for reducing stress around the holidays may simply be having a conversation with your loved ones about what they expect for the holidays and what you expect. Having this conversation may relieve your stress in that you may find you expect more from yourself than others expect from you. This can lead to you possibly letting some of those expectations go.
References:
Kassymova, K., Koserbayeva, N., Sangilbayey, S., & Schachl, H. (2018, September). Stress management techniques for students. In International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Personality Formation in Modern Society (ICTPPFMS 2018) (pp. 47-56). Atlantis Press.
Rodriguez, M. How to Make the Holidays Less Stressful.
Shattell, M., & Johnson, A. (2017). Three simple mindfulness practices to manage holiday stress. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 55(12), 2-4.
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