5 Ways to Stress Less During the Holidays

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, do you notice that you’re feeling a little more stressed than usual? If so, you’re not alone since the holidays can be one of the most stressful times of year. Here’s 5 ways to stress less this holiday season!

1. Give Yourself Permission to Say No
Have you already received a handful of invites to holiday parties? As the invites continue to stream in, you may find yourself feeling torn between wanting to please your employer, family, and friends while maintaining a sense of balance during the holiday season. When you give yourself permission to gracefully say no to an invitation, you are actually saying yes to taking care of yourself. If you’re concerned that the person who invited you will be offended if you don’t attend, consider talking about it with someone you can trust before declining the invitation.

2. Release Your Expectation of Perfection
When families gather for the holidays, there’s often an expectation that everything will run smoothly and essentially be “perfect” with delicious food, meaningful conversation, laughter, and unconditional love. When the holiday gatherings fail to meet expectations, it’s common to feel sad, disappointed, and frustrated. Instead of striving for perfection, consider how you can be more realistic, accept what you perceive as any family dysfunctions, and simply enjoy time together.

3. Know What Presses Your Buttons
Perhaps it’s your mother commenting on your relationship or sibling pointing out the few extra pounds that you’ve gained that causes you to become irritated and defensive. Whether they intentionally try to or not, the people that know you the best are often experts at pressing your buttons. Unfortunately, there’s no magic solution to change their behavior, but you can create a game plan for dealing with what you consider as unpleasant comments. Know that you have control over how you react.

4. Ditch the Emphasis on Your Relationship Status
With commercials highlighting happy couples and you receiving invites to parties with the option to bring a guest, it’s natural to feel upset if your love life isn’t exactly how you want it. Instead of focusing on what your love life is lacking, consider the advantages! For example, perhaps this is your opportunity to plan a New Year’s getaway with your girlfriends.

5. Increase Your Awareness About How Food Affects Your Mood
Yes, the holiday cookies, pies, casseroles, homemade bread, stuffing, and cocktails are very tempting! However, indulging in sugar and fat laden foods can have an affect on your mood. Notice how certain foods affect your mood and ability to feel your best.

Lindsay is a Certified Professional Coach who specializes in working with women in their 20s and 30s. She runs a fun and supportive online community exclusively for 20 and 30-somethings who want to figure it all out and fall in love with their life. Lindsay enthusiastically helps her clients take their lives from searching to satisfied. Besides being passionate about coaching, she loves blogging, experimenting with green smoothie recipes, practicing yoga, exploring hiking trails, and purple nail polish.