Healthy Ways to Manage Stress this Holiday Season
Managing Holiday Season Stress
The holiday season can be a joyous time, but it can also be a stressful one. With social commitments, work stress, financial responsibilities, family engagements, and much more, a lot of people tend to feel a lot of stress during this time of year. Here are a few things you can do to manage stress this holiday season.
Be Okay with Saying No
There’s a lot going on at this time of year. In fact, it can be too much. If you have a lot of social obligations, family commitments, and other events happening, it’s okay to say that you can’t attend them all. Even if you would technically have the time to be at every one, you need time to yourself to rest and recharge.
The same is true for holiday cooking and baking, presents, and everything else. You don’t need to bake everything from scratch for a party. You don’t need to spend hours and hours on your decorations. And you don’t need to run around to ten stores to get the perfect gifts. Not only is it okay to not do things sometimes, it can also be good for your health.
Recognizing you can’t necessarily do anything can also help resolve some financial stress, which is common at this time of year.
Prioritize Fresh Air and Sunlight
Depending on where you live, this time of year can be dark and cold. That usually means more time spent indoors. Unfortunately, that isn’t necessarily good for your mental health. Spending time outdoors, especially in sunlight, can be calming and help improve your overall health.
Try to get outside during the day for at least 15 minutes. It will help a lot.
Get Active
Not only is getting outside good for your overall health, but so is being active. In fact, studies show that exercise is an effective way to cope with stress, anxiety, and feelings of sadness.
An excellent way to manage stress this holiday season is to schedule some time in your busy calendar to do something active. Even if you only have 15 minutes to exercise, it’s better than nothing. Putting it in your calendar will encourage you to stick with a schedule.
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