Saturday, November 29, 2008

Holidays Tips - Reduce Your Stress During the Holidays

By Nicole Mendari

The holidays can be a stressful time of year for everyone. Some people stood out from the large amount of things to do, such as shopping, baking and decorating. For others, the events with her family can cause a lot of stress. Regardless of what creates stress for you, take some time for you to relax, rejuvenate, and rest so you can enjoy a peaceful and joyful holiday season.

If you are worried that they have too many things to do and not enough time to do it, sit down and take a Christmas to-do list. Include your spouse and children in the planning process vacation, and try to delegate chores to everyone to help make things easier and free up your time. Even the youngest children can do much to help Mom and Dad for the holidays, including picking up their room and behave. Older children and adolescents are able to do a little more. If you have a teen-age driver in your household, and have learned to make deliveries, mail Christmas cards, or wander for you.

Be realistic in their planning. If you think in general it takes most of the day to make your Christmas decoration, do not try to put everything in one session in the morning or afternoon. And most importantly, no more than yourself timetable and try to do too much in one day. Schedule in time to read a book, take a hot bath, or get to bed early.

You might also want to consider hiring professional help during the holidays. If you know you're having company but you just won't have the time yourself to do your housecleaning, hire a cleaning service to come in and help you. Consider it an early Christmas present to yourself. Even if you just have the service do the big jobs and you do the smaller stuff later, you'll have saved time and effort in the process.

If spending time with members of their extended family creates stress for you, consider yield out of the festivities. After all, the holidays are supposed to be peaceful and happy. It is very likely that if you family is in turmoil in the rest of the year that will be the case during the holidays too. Try to make alternate plans with the members of his support system, as friends or other relatives. If you have to attend, rely on this system to get strong support you through, and if things were tense all day and go home early. There is no need to tolerate an intolerable situation that will cause your stress levels to skyrocket. As an alternative plan, consider donating your time to a local soup kitchen, home, shelter or nursing home, to all who would appreciate a hand and an ear of support during the holidays.

Most importantly, listen to your body. If you start feeling signs of stress, such as headaches and body aches, anxiety and insomnia, which is your signal to stop and take things easier. Back on activities, get help with homework or projects, and take a little time for some deep breathing exercises and walking.

If you take care of yourself, you should be able to take care of things on your list, your family and holiday season as well. - 16928

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