Holiday Stress
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- December
- 5
Are you as stressed as I am? Chanukah arrived last night but instead of sharing a family meal and giving gifts, we were running around so we could attend our daughter’s winter choir concert. Why the schools schedule stuff then (on top of homework she had—so SHE was stressed too) is beyond me. Indeed, when holiday stress is placed on top of already excessively high stress levels individuals feel year-round, it’s no wonder the holiday season is one of the most demanding times of the year. Just type holiday stress into the Google search bar and more than 7 million results pop up.
Consider these findings:
According to an Opinion Research study conducted in October 2007, 48 percent of women experience more stress during the holidays compared to other times of the year. (Opinion Research, 10/07)
More than 80 percent of individuals report that they take no additional steps to manage their stress during this time of year. With hectic schedules and added holiday demands, Americans report that they are increasingly likely to turn to unhealthy behaviors such as comfort eating (56%), drinking more alcohol (30%) and sedentary activities like sleeping and watching TV (43%).( American Psychological Association 2006 poll on holiday stress)
Almost three-quarters of Americans report that money and work are significant sources of stress in their lives. (American Psychological Association, 2007 Stress in America survey. The holidays then compound the pressure. (APA’s 2006 poll on holiday stress)
“With the holidays and New Year’s still a few weeks away, we’re at the tip of the iceberg in terms of holiday stress. But, we’re already seeing first-hand the toll it’s taking on employees,� says August Stieber, National Sales Director of Bensinger, DuPont & Associates (BDA), a national EAP firm. “BDA has seen approximately a 20% increase in mental health cases in November 2007 when comparing the data to the same time last year.�
Stieber offers these simple tips for balancing holiday cheer with holiday stress:
1.      Know how stress affects you.
2.      Time management during the holiday season is needed for even the most organized individual.
3.      Balance the end of the year work projects with your personal time. If you have more stress at work you may want to think about not adding so many social events to your calendar.
4.      The quality of interactions/social events is better than the quantity of interactions.
5.      Take the time to be in the moments with the people you care about. It usually gives us energy to make it through the season.
Any other tips?
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 9:47 am by Jeanne Muchnick.
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It it is all so crazy.In reading that,some times I feel like you gotta be kidding and it is so big that I JUST LAUGH AN LET IT ALL GO. D
this year I thought about not celebrating the holidays ‘consumer’ style at all and going back to the principle that it’s better to give than receive; so next year I’m going to ask that any present to me be handmade (food, card) and that gifts be given to children who are needy and families that have little
I’m so disgusted with the ‘consumerism’ and the political correctness of the holidays – it doesn’t matter what religion we are, it matters that we’re family and it’s a time for family and giving
I’ll buy the ‘presents’ or things my family needs during the year. This is my New Year’s resolution
sorry that sounds strange that I thought about it this year but will change next year but that’s because I got caught up in the rush again and already shopped and exhausted myself -
Oh please! We never had one quiet beautiful night of Hanukkah. We were at soccer tournaments (6 to 8 p.m. on school nights. Who schedules that?!), meetings, other nonsese. (To be fair, some of the rush-rush was because I had to replaced a totalled car immediately.) The only time I got to make latkes was the night after the last night of Hanukkah. They were for an ethnic party at my son’s high school, not for the family. Great idea, but honestly running between the computer (I work at home)and the kitchen to fry up three pounds of potatoes by 4:45 so I could make it to an important client’s holiday party far away by 5:30 was horrendous. I was so stressed I forgot to buy the sour cream and applesauce. My husband had to come home early, scoop up the kid and the latkes, stop into the supermarket and zoom over to the high school—and of course they were late, which was entirely my fault. Give me a spiked glass of eggnog and let me stay home!
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