Tips for Busting Holiday Stress

by Mitra Razzaghi, MD

 

Visits to bustling malls, repeated trips to the airport to fetch long-lost relatives, and constant shuffling of cookies and turkey out of the oven may translate to celebrations of love and joy. But they also translate, of course, into stress.

Who's Mitra Razzaghi? You'll find her, among
other places, as one of
the two physician leaders
of Women's Integrated Services in Health (WISH), a unique primary health care home for women.

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During the holidays, our lives become even more stressful as we try to juggle our usual responsibilities with extra holiday preparation. Women are especially vulnerable to stress, as they often bear the brunt of the preparation work during the holiday season. This excess work and struggle to please everyone may leave you feeling isolated and overwhelmed. 

Lisa Corbin, MD, director of The Center for Integrative Medicine at University of Colorado Hospital , urges her patients to remember the value of exercise to manage stress (and ease the impact of all that good holiday food!).

"If you are feeling stressed, take a few deep breaths and focus on your slow, measured breathing for a few seconds," she also suggests. "Replace the anxious thoughts by visualizing something that makes you feel happy and calm. It has been proven that this can make you feel calmer and more centered and help you face whatever your kids/nephews/neighbors/friends/siblings/in-laws bring." A centering mantra may also help.

No perfectionism the perfect approach

Try to keep your holiday stress to a minimum by prioritizing what is important to you, and planning how to get it done.

Try these tips:

  • Don't wait until the last minute to make plans.
  • Don't be a perfectionist about the holidays. Understand that you can't do everything, so choose the things that you can accomplish and enjoy.
  • For gift shopping, remember that it's the thought that counts. Don't let competitiveness and perfectionism send you on too many shopping trips.
  • Simplify. You don't have to bake 20 different types of cookies - unless you really enjoy it. (Sometimes kneading dough can be a great stress release.)
  • Family time can be both wonderful and anxiety-provoking. Try to be realistic and enjoy their company.
  • Take some time to think about what the holidays really mean to you and your family: time together, religious observance, reflection on your life and future goals. Let these aspects of the holidays help you keep things in perspective.

Doing less may help you enjoy the season more, and that is really the best stress reliever of all.

Need some more guidance? The Center for Integrative Medicine at UCH (720-848-1090) can help. It offers a variety of different services including massage, acupuncture, mind-body counseling, and biofeedback techniques. Often its services do not require a referral.
 
Dr. Razzaghi is practice director of Women's Integrated Services in Health (WISH) at University of Colorado Hospital. WISH can provide individualized primary care programs that help keep women healthy. For more information, please call (720) 848-9474 (WISH).