Spending time with family is supposed to bring joy and happiness during the holidays, but for many, “the fam” produces stress, anxiety and amounts to obligatory time and energy. Of course, the list of purchases, holiday parties and constant supply of holiday desserts doesn’t help either…
This year, control holiday stress by changing your behavior. You don’t have to make the fruitcake your Great Aunt insists for the family gathering every year. You don’t have to put up with your step-brother’s inappropriate behavior around your children. And you certainly don’t have to drive 5 hours to go see your husband’s aunt’s house just because it is tradition.
“Ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing things that make me miserable?’” Ken Duckworth, MD, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness tells WebMD.
Change your outlook on the holidays and family so the coming years can be everything joyous and not full of stress.
Find a therapist near your home that may be able to help you better deal with stress.
What is your hectic holiday story?
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I volunteer at a homeless shelter every christmas, and find it to be such a rewarding experience. My family are not close by (live a 24 hour flight away) and I find it too stressful spending christmas with them so I have decided to give something back to society by volunteering.