I could never understand why this time of the year was always so stressful. I'm thinking that it should be the opposite. From Thanksgiving till New Years should be one of the most joyous times of the year. Unfortunately, sometimes the high expectations most of us carry for the season, as well as the debt that often lasts for months afterwords leads to some serious stress. As a Crohns sufferer its even more important for me to do everything I can to avoid holiday stress.
For years and years I was as guilty as anyone, maxing out my schedule, my energy and my credit cards. Because of this, for years I suffered. I can remember throughout my first marriage being so sick by the time Christmas arrived, that I would barely be able to eat any of the food (basically enough food was made to feed 3 small countries) made on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Not anymore.
For me, my first step towards avoiding as much stress as possible this time of year was to sit down and think out everything I had done over the past 20 years that had caused the stress. Let's see. Which family members will I spend the holidays with? Spending too much. Waiting till the last minute to complete my shopping. Spending too much. Going to every party. Spending too much.
We all have certain expectations about what makes the season special. The good thing is that most of the activities we associate with this time of year are fun. However, it's easy to become so overwhelmed by all this activity that we become too busy to actually enjoy what we're doing and in my case, also made me sick. It took me a long time, but finally I said I'm not going to do EVERYTHING, however, I'm really going to enjoy the things I DO end up doing. I cannot even tell you how much more enjoyable and memorable the holiday season is because of this. I know that in order for it to be stress free, I need, first and foremost to take care of myself. That means saying NO to some parties, getting my shopping done early, trying my best to stay within a budget and watching what I eat and drink.
This year, a nice Thanksgiving at our home, all shopping done by December 10th (most of it done online), a couple of low key family get togethers between Thanksgiving and Christmas and 5 days in Miami for Emily and I over the Christmas week has me feeling great, relaxed and healthy.
Happy Holidays everyone !
For years and years I was as guilty as anyone, maxing out my schedule, my energy and my credit cards. Because of this, for years I suffered. I can remember throughout my first marriage being so sick by the time Christmas arrived, that I would barely be able to eat any of the food (basically enough food was made to feed 3 small countries) made on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Not anymore.
For me, my first step towards avoiding as much stress as possible this time of year was to sit down and think out everything I had done over the past 20 years that had caused the stress. Let's see. Which family members will I spend the holidays with? Spending too much. Waiting till the last minute to complete my shopping. Spending too much. Going to every party. Spending too much.
We all have certain expectations about what makes the season special. The good thing is that most of the activities we associate with this time of year are fun. However, it's easy to become so overwhelmed by all this activity that we become too busy to actually enjoy what we're doing and in my case, also made me sick. It took me a long time, but finally I said I'm not going to do EVERYTHING, however, I'm really going to enjoy the things I DO end up doing. I cannot even tell you how much more enjoyable and memorable the holiday season is because of this. I know that in order for it to be stress free, I need, first and foremost to take care of myself. That means saying NO to some parties, getting my shopping done early, trying my best to stay within a budget and watching what I eat and drink.
This year, a nice Thanksgiving at our home, all shopping done by December 10th (most of it done online), a couple of low key family get togethers between Thanksgiving and Christmas and 5 days in Miami for Emily and I over the Christmas week has me feeling great, relaxed and healthy.
Happy Holidays everyone !
I got to a point where I just said "no. I'm not going anywhere Christmas day" no matter what, though, even when I don't feel stressed, I always flare around Christmas. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays to you! Be well!