I love the holiday season because it’s a time filled with joy, the togetherness of family and friends, and delicious foods. It’s also a time of high expectations that can be very stressful, overwhelming, and disappointing. If the holiday season brings you stress, read along for tips to reduce stress, set boundaries, and focus on finding happiness during this time.
Recognizing Causes of Holiday Stress
The first step is recognizing what causes your holiday stress. Maybe navigating holiday treats and family meals cause you stress. Or perhaps you hold high expectations and hope for family gatherings to be seamless. These stressful factors can cause you to experience anxiety and feel overwhelmed amid holiday cheer.
You can help manage holiday stress by having effective stress management techniques, getting plenty of rest, eating nourishing meals, taking time for yourself, and setting boundaries.
Utilizing Effective Stress Management
As with overall stress and anxiety, it’s helpful to have a few techniques ready to help reduce stress around the holidays. Effective stress management improves holistic health, including lowering stress and anxiety, giving you more energy, boosting immune function, and promoting longevity. The more you practice, the better you can manage stress in the future.
Try the following techniques:
- Balloon breaths—4 seconds in, 6 seconds out
- Meditation
- Yoga or stretching
- Go for a walk
- Listen to music you love
- Read a book or listen to a podcast instead of scrolling
Prioritize Things that Feel Good
With stress management techniques, taking good care of your physical and mental health by prioritizing things that feel good promotes your happiness and well-being. It’s equally important to devote time to engage in practices that bring you joy and calm. Practices include gratitude journaling, taking a bath, or having a laugh with a friend.
Set Realistic Boundaries
Finally, setting boundaries can help to ensure you follow through on prioritizing your well-being. Boundaries are essential during the holidays since we have less autonomy over our environment. Thus, boundaries are a healthy tool to ensure your needs are met and to regain independence and personal space during the holidays. Trust yourself to set boundaries so that you only commit to what you truly want to engage in.
Actionable tips for how to set boundaries include:
- Identify what causes you stress and know your limits
- Set boundaries that are realistic and attainable
- Stay calm and be firm when met with resistance
- Be willing to walk away or say “no.”
- Trust yourself and leave self-judgment and self-doubt at the door
Following these recommendations can help reduce stress and allow you to focus on finding happiness during this time.
Fill up your cup first.
If you are a caretaker or naturally focused on providing for others, remember that to do so, you must first ‘fill up your cup’ and take care of yourself so that you can wholly care for others. Practicing this self-care is a priority for your overall well-being.
Let go of perfection.
As with anything else, holidays don’t always go according to plan. Form realistic expectations in advance to help reduce stress at the moment.
Practice gratitude.
Don’t forget to slow down and have gratitude for your loved ones and other important things in your life.
Marianna Cuomo Maier is a Certified Health and Wellness Coach who created Grata Wellness, a holistic coaching practice, wellness platform, and blog that provides a gratitude-centered approach to health and wellness. Marianna received a Bachelor’s Degree from Yale University in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Teaching from National Louis University. Marianna received her Health and Wellness Coach certification from Wellcoaches School of Coaching. Marianna guides individuals to be empowered to take control of their body and mind, maintain balance, and live a more joyful life.
