Top 5 ways to manage holiday stress

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The weather is beginning to get chilly, the leaves have fallen off the trees, and the holiday spirit is in the air. If you are not careful, you may fall victim to stress, fatigue, and feelings of being overwhelmed.

As a way for me to stay cheery this time of year, we've collected the top 5 ways to manage stress during the holidays:

1. Re-evaluate expectations
2. Visualize holiday "success"
3. Understand limitations
4. Prioritize
5. Breathe 

First, let's examine your expectations. Some of the beliefs we hear people say this time of year are:

• "It must be perfect!"
• "It's the holidays, I must feel cheerful!"
• "I am responsible for things going right."
• "I have to do it all."
• "It's tradition, it has to be done."

How many of those, if not other, beliefs put you in a bind during this season of joy? Consider this your permission slip to re-evaluate what expectations are limiting you from enjoying your reason for this season. 

Second, visualize what holiday success means to you. Take a moment to visualize yourself at the end of the holidays. How do you want to feel and how do you want it to look? What memories do you want to make? What is your reason to celebrate this time of year? Let your answers guide you to success this holiday.

Third, understand your limitations. You are human; you are not super human. Whether your limits are financial, physical, emotional, you are human and can only do so much. Give yourself permission to be human and to understand you are doing the best you can. 

Fourth, prioritize. This step really incorporates the first three steps in managing stress. Once you evaluate your expectations this holiday, visualize what success means to you, and understand your limitations, you can then begin to prioritize what you should put your energy towards. Prioritizing helps reduce the amount of chaos you may experience by keeping you focused on the tasks at hand.

Last, learn to breathe. Your breath plays an important role in keeping your body in balance. There are many times when stress decreases your breath and you begin to experience shallow breathing. Without going into the details of the biological mechanisms of breath, just know that it is important and a preventative way of dealing with the effects of stress. Breathe deeply and after incorporating the last four steps, let go of what you can and know you are doing your best. 

Our list are just some suggestions that we have found helpful in managing stress. There are numerous other ways to take care of yourself during the holidays. Our hope is that you enjoy the holidays and focus on what is important to you and your family without being overcome by stress.