Take Action: Better Manage Stress This Season

The Holiday Season is Here!

Are those words warm and joyful for you – or do they press down on you like a 2-ton fruitcake, putting more pressure into your already busy and stressful life?

The holidays are often a time of joy, fun, and family togetherness, but they can also be fraught with demands, expectations and stress. According to the National Mental Health Association, reasons for feeling blue around the holidays are numerous. They range from fatigue, a result of all of the increased holiday activity, to financial limitations and family tensions. Experts say one of the fastest routes to holiday depression is unrealistic expectations.

Take Action

We can feel stress physically, spiritually, emotionally, socially and intellectually. The first step is to identify what the stressors are for us as individuals. We are all different and experience the same events differently. What is fun for one can be dreadful for another.

The Franciscan Alliance – Northern Indiana Region Employee Assistance Program staff offers the following tips on how you can better manage stress this holiday season:

Physical Stress

• Get some exercise.
• Increase portions of healthy food and decrease unhealthy food.

Spiritual Stress

• Listen to sacred music of the season.
• Think about the real reason for the season.

Emotional Stress

• Have a good laugh. Don't take everything so seriously.
• Listen to another's troubles. Give them support.

Social Stress

• Start some new traditions, but remember to celebrate the old ones as well.
• Don't do things mainly because you "should." Do things that are important to you and the family.

Let these tips and ideas help you Care for Your Spirit this holiday season. For more tips, check out our blog post at franciscanalliancenwi.wordpress.com.

Wishing you all the best from Franciscan Alliance and Spirit of Women.