Tis the season.....

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Tis the season to be jolly... roasting chestnuts on an open fire, sleigh bells ringing, parties, friendly gatherings, gift giving, and a host of other joyous activities.  With festivities like these in the air, why are we all so stressed. 

There is a wide range of stressful holiday experiences. From difficulty in finding parking at the crowded malls to the loneliness of spending that first Christmas without a departed love one... feeling guilty about the gifts we cannot afford to give... the fatigue...feeling anxious about an addictive family member's behavior... children shuttled between divorced parents or worse yet, forgotten. The list of stresses can go on, but you get the idea.

All the holiday advertising portrays the spirit of Christmas as something that can be wrapped into the perfect little package and that your life can spark if you just give this one gift.  These ads affect our emotions, our behavior, our attitudes and our self-esteem.

The positive side to all this is we have choices.  We can choose to reduce our "holiday stress" by making the right choices for ourselves and not the advertisements. Perhaps limiting some of your commitments, sticking to reasonable budgets, avoid excessive eating and drinking, working out, and sleeping might make things a bit more dazzling.

Take time to enjoy this time of year by choosing something more simple.  Try sipping tea or hot chocolate by the fire and reading, go for a walk in the woods especially after a snow fall, or have lunch with a friend.  And when was the last time you played in the snow!