Managing Holiday Stress
By Bill Maloney, MSW, LICSW
Human Development Center

The holidays are a time of love, togetherness and who are we kidding? – STRESS. Whether you’re traveling to or hosting your holiday gathering, you’re sure to need some major holiday stress relief. The biggest causes of holiday stress are relationships, finances and physical demands. Here are 12 tips (like the days of Christmas) to cope with all three.

  1. Plan a budget. On average it takes four months to pay off holiday related bills. If you have created a holiday account to put dollars away all year, you are ahead of the game (remember this idea for next year). Stick to a budget (gifts, travel, and food). No exceptions.
  2. Focus on one thing at a time. DO NOT try to do everything at once, separate tasks and DELEGATE. Having and making lists will not only help you stay organized, but it will give you a sense of accomplishment when each task is completed.
  3. Simplify. It’s easy to feel pulled in too many directions. Holidays are filled with parties, shopping, school programs, church activities, Santa pictures, Nutcracker ballet, and……….Survey family as one or two most meaningful and go with that.
  4. JUST SAY NO. Pressure and guilt to “Be All” and “Do All” are greatest during the holidays. You are still a nice person even if you say “NO”. Do it with grace and decline politely.
  5. Hold Your Tongue. Family togetherness can sometimes mean “family drama”. Decide you will be the one to keep the peace. Remember what mom always said “If you can’t say something nice…..” or treat people to way you would want to be treated.
  6. Watch what you eat. We tend to overindulge this time of year. Eat healthy snacks and, to keep your energy up, eat mini-meals throughout the day.
  7. Break a sweat. Exercise, exercise, exercise! Get your heart rate up. We tend to stop this because we are “so busy”. Exercise is the best stress buster we have. USE it.
  8. Set aside “Me” time. Take a minimum of 15 minutes a day to quiet and center yourself.
  9. Embrace your emotions. The loss of the ones we have loved in our lives are brought front and center during the holidays. Recognize these feelings and remember they are “common” this time of year.
  10. Give back. Helping others provides a great stress buster and a sense of joy in helping others. Wrap gifts for a neighbor with arthritis, ring the bell, or shovel someone’s walk.
  11. Keep expectations realistic. If our holidays end up like a TV special, that’s great. Be careful not to distort what doesn’t go the way we want it to. Don’t sweat the small stuff and remember, the idea of holidays is to celebrate and give thanks.
  12. Get and ASK for help. Take care of yourself. If the “holiday blues” last for weeks after, talk with a friend or call your doctor or a mental-health professional.

Bill Maloney, MSW, LICSW is a therapist and Team Leader for the Crisis Response Team at the Human Development Center (HDC). He has extensive knowledge and training on crisis care and response.

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