Managing Stress + Anxiety During the Holidays
“You can’t always control what goes on the outside, but you can always control what goes on the inside.”
– – Wayne Dyer
The holidays are quickly approaching, but not everyone gets the same warm, fuzzy feeling during the last few months of the year. The holidays – although they promote cheer and giving – can amplify feelings of stress and bring panic, anxiety, and depression along with it. With a house full of holiday guests and increased social situations along with trying to find gifts for family and friends, the holidays have the potential to become anxiety-inducing.
Whether you’re traveling or staying home for the holidays, we’re here to help you navigate any feelings of stress and anxiety well before the holidays arrive. Contact us at Wellspring Behavioral Health today to learn more about how we can help you start living fully.
7 Ways to Manage the Holidays When You Have Anxiety
Even if you don’t experience stress and anxiety on a regular basis throughout the year, anxiety can hit you like a freight train when you feel the weight of holiday pressure. In fact, it’s reported that three-quarters of Americans experience increased anxiety and depression during the holidays, despite the warm and fuzzy feelings of cheer it’s supposed to induce. The increase in stress and anxiety isn’t surprising when you consider that the holidays also mean financial concerns, stressful travel, and other overwhelming logistics to manage.
The following tips and practices can help you work on making your holidays anxiety-free and stress-free.
7 ways to manage holiday stress and anxiety
Feel Calm + Collected By Visiting a Positive
Place
Want to feel calm and connected? Rather than rummaging through your box of beloved trinkets, you may want to consider visiting a place that holds meaning for you. We often use sentimental items to remind ourselves of happy times and connect with our past, but instead of relying on items, you should rely on specific places that bring you feelings of happiness and positivity.
New research from The National Trust in coordination with the University of Surrey shows that visiting places we love may be more influential to our well-being than possessions we own.
How places influence our well-being more than possessions