Stress. We all know it. We all want to avoid it. Most of us fail, especially during the holiday season.
In our high-paced society, stress seems to be a constant companion. Deadlines are necessary evils, and time management is crucial. Today is National Stress Awareness Day, and as it is Wednesday, it is a good day to cover getting through the middle of the week stress!
Here is a list of things you can do to avoid the seemingly inevitable mental breakdown as family, gifts, cooking, football, and more floods your mind and makes you want to pull your hair out.
- Breathing. This may seem trivial, but people in stressful situations often forget how important it can be to breathe deeply and evenly. It helps calm the heart rate and gives a stressed individual something to focus on other than the issue at hand.
How to get into the habit: Try some new yoga poses, and make sure to do them correctly with breathing in the necessary places, as directed. Try pausing your other thoughts for a few seconds to consciously breathe every time you hear a certain word. - Planning. I am really bad at establishing habits, but one habit I am forever grateful to myself for finally doing is managing a calendar. Making actual plans show up in text on a device I can check and get notifications from has improved my reliability and stress levels greatly. Knowing how much money I have to buy gifts has helped me be able to plan what and when to get presents.
How to get into the habit: One way I got established in the habit was to start off with as consistent overkill as I could manage. I created a paper calendar with color coded plans and even little drawings. That failed for me, of course, but it made me see enough of a difference in being secure in important dates and times that I started plugging in all my meetings on my phone. Now my phone sends me notifications for all the things I may have otherwise forgotten. - Chilling. Some people are really good at chilling. I am not. If I have downtime I think I am forgetting something. So, I actually have to schedule time to chill.
How to get into the habit: Watch your friends who are really good at chilling. What do they do after work? When do they chill? Mimicking them is a good way to start. Another way is to say no to little things you do not even want to do. It may sound fun to go to your second cousin’s Christmas party on your only night off, but honestly, it may be better for you to catch up on the highlights and watch the video on Facebook. Try not to forget  you have needs, too. - Accepting. Sometimes, a lot of our stress comes from our belief that we are failing too much or from believing the false criticisms of others. We are our worst critics, except during the holiday season. Family often likes to tell each other how to better live their lives. This is solved by forcibly teaching yourself to accept you for who you are. You’re trying. Isn’t that the important part?
How to get into the habit: During the day, pack up all of your complaints and criticisms of yourself or the complaints and criticisms from others into a metaphorical box. Do not touch that box at all until you get into bed that night. Slowly unpack the box and look at each criticism individually. Is it really an issue? If so, think about ways you could approach fixing it. If not, make a mental note to dismiss the thought as soon as it comes to you.
Stress is a big issue in our culture, but it doesn’t have to cripple us. Stay aware and stay ahead of your anxiety this holiday season.
