Aim for a Stress Free Holiday
by Hannah Perry
The holidays are a fun time to visit family and celebrate
the season. Unfortunately, for the past two years I spent the days between
Christmas and New Year’s in bed at my parents’ house with the flu. It wasn’t
due to the cold weather or a virus going through the family, but due to stress.
I was in a high pressure marketing career with no pause or stop button. Despite
the illness, I had to suffer my way through conference calls and emails all
leading up to the big event I was managing that occurred mid-January.
The rest
of the year I was stressed as well, but the added stress of the holidays and
family, and missing out on the fun, made me extremely ill two years in a row.
Thankfully, I’m no longer in that career and my stress level has gone down
drastically, but how ironic is it that during these times that are meant to
refresh us we often end up so drained!
In a previous article we discussed
mindfulness, which is a great way to manage stress, but I’d like to provide a
few additional tips that can help us all this holiday season:
-
Leave
Work at Work: I know this is not possible for all careers but the more you
can be present in the given moment with family and friends the better. If you
must work then set aside a specific amount of time in the day and purely focus
on work, trying to watch A Christmas Story while editing that excel spreadsheet
never accomplishes much anyway. . .
-
Eat
Healthier: There will be another post coming, regarding this topic, but
eating healthier during the holidays will help you to feel better and provide you
with more energy, as well as boost your immune system.
-
Exercise:
Proven to be a stress reliever, exercise is a great way for your body to
refresh itself. My new favorite phone app is called “Seven”, it offers a seven
minute high intensity workout complete with an instructor to yell at you to
keep going (in four different voice options – I prefer Drill Sergeant, but
Hippie is pretty fun too).
-
Lower
your Expectations: We often put too much pressure on ourselves to get the
perfect gifts, to host the perfect party, and to make sure the entire family is
getting along perfectly. But, it’s the imperfections that make us all unique
and it’s not worth it to drive ourselves crazy striving for an unattainable
goal. Savor the moments and stop comparing your life to others.
Please enjoy the holiday season, relax and be safe. Time
goes by so quickly and it’s important to spend time with the people we love and
to be there for people that don’t have such supportive families and friends.
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