5 Clever Ways to Reduce Your Stress During the Holidays

Would you like to minimize your stress and finally enjoy the holiday season this year?!

The holiday season is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year!”

But if we’re being honest here, it can also be the most stressful time of the year.

Especially if we’re not paying careful attention to our mental health and if we don’t put ourselves first.

That’s because for some, instead of feeling joy and excitement this holiday season…

They may be getting into the same fights with the same family members during the holiday season, starting their Christmas shopping at the very last minute, and feeling obligated with immense pressure to go to event’s/parties that they’d just rather skip and be in solace alone instead.

So if you can relate to that every single year, especially when the holidays come around?

Let’s conquer all of that unneeded stress, with these 5 clever ways, so you can finally have a stress-free holiday this year.

5 Clever Ways to Enjoy the Holidays & Reduce Stress

First, Let’s see if you fall into the holiday stress category.

Even though the holidays only come around in one season and there’s so much to enjoy and savor, for some of us, we’re just often unable to enjoy the holidays (to their fullest potential) because of the amount of stress it gives us.

How to know if the holidays bring you stress with a few questions:

Do you feel like you lack the time to get things accomplished for the holidays? If yes, Holiday stress statistics show that up to 69 percent of people are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time”.
Do you feel stressed spending extra money that you need for bills? If yes, holiday statistics also say that 69 percent are stressed by perceiving a “lack of money.”.
Do you feel added pressure during the holidays? If so, then you are part of the 51 percent that is stressed out about the “pressure to give gifts or get gifts”.

As you can see, if you suffer from anxiety or find holidays stressful and can relate to the above questions, then here are just 5 simple ways to enjoy the holidays and reduce your stress.

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1. Write down a detailed list in a Christmas planner.

There are so many details that we’re trying to manage this time of year so writing them ALL down will save you a lot of time and stress.

Having a handy planner that’s devoted to the holidays only and writing everything down will be a great stress reducer for you.

You can hang it up in your kitchen or somewhere where you will see it often, that way you have a reminder of everything that you may need.

Make sure to write down your gift idea, party invites, food ingredients for recipes, and anything that will help you stay more orderly and organized.

Life can be stressful in general and if you don’t have a plan or if you don’t have things written down you’ll get even more stressed and overwhelmed.

2. Always Maintain your healthy habits, no matter what.

Assuming you have some sort of healthy habits already, being consistent with your health especially during the holiday season will deter any added stress that may be coming your way.

Let’s face it, stress affects our immune system and our immune system gets really weakened because of all those stress hormones rushing through our bodies each holiday season.

So to combat this, continue making your health your FIRST priority.

If you know you are going to a party in the evening? Try eating a lot of fruit and vegetables during the day. If you know you are going to be consuming a lot of alcohol? Get a fancy water bottle like this one and have it on you at all times.

By continuing your healthy habits and putting your health first you will be better able to handle that holiday stress each and every year.

3. Embrace simplicity and all the little details that are in your life right now.

If you would really like to reduce your stress for this holiday season, now is the perfect time to not allow your joy to be taken away comparing it with others.

When we look at what other people are doing in their homes and all the different activities that they are partaking in, especially during the holiday season, we tend to look at our own lives and what we are doing and start comparing ourselves.

The beautiful thing is that you don’t have to have that perfect Pinterest Christmas tree. You don’t have to have a perfectly decorated farmhouse style home either. And you certainly don’t need to compare yourself to the picture-perfect image that the holiday advertisements bombard you with all season long.

By embracing simplicity, you are deliberately accepting yourself, who you are, and all that you have to offer over this holiday season.

4. Shop online to reduce added holiday shopping stress.

This time of year the stores get jam-packed full of shoppers and the stress is high especially when you’re trying to find a parking space.

Trying to navigate around other shoppers is stressful and can be plain nuts!

So if you would like to eliminate some of the stress of being out in all that hustle and bustle, sit at home (in the comfort of your own home) and browse online.

Add things to your Amazon wish list and get those gifts shipped to you in two days with Amazon Prime! Make your life easier and try to do whatever you can do to ease that holiday stress you feel.

If you don’t already have Amazon Prime? You can get your free trial here. Even if you use it for one month, it’ll be so worth the free trial.

5. Don’t self isolate yourself to combat your stress.

If you would really like to combat that stress you feel each holiday season, then now is the perfect time to enjoy your time with the people who love you, who you love, and who are supportive of all that you do.

When we feel stressed we tend to want to self isolate and that can make things worse and studies show that isolation can cause post-traumatic stress if we don’t pay careful attention.

So make time to get together one on one, sit down and grab a coffee and really make time to catch up with one another.

And remember that don’t have to buy everyone you know a Christmas gift, the extra time you make to keep those connections alive, is a gift in and of itself and will surely help you feel stress-free during this holiday season!

We can handle our stress and ultimately be stress-free and excited, rather than irritated over the holiday season if we make sure to keep records of the details, drink lots of water, keep to our healthy habits, and stay close to the people we love. Happy Holidays!

Author: Everything Abode

Welcome to Everything Abode, your daily inspiration for every activity at home!

Our goal is to inspire you to live an elegant and chic lifestyle from the comfort of your home.

We’ll help you express yourself through authentic style, aesthetic beauty, and stylish home decor.

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