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How to Manage Holiday Stress
The holiday season is a wonderful time to relax, connect with loved ones, and enjoy the festivities. But you may find yourself with elevated levels of stress and anxiety during these times. Don’t worry; you are not alone.
Whatever the reason may be, learning to manage this stress will allow you to have a better holiday experience! Here some methods to managing holiday stress:
1. Stick to your daily wellness habits
What step in your daily routine makes you relaxed or happy? This could be going to bed early, drinking tea, or going on a morning run. Whatever it is, keep doing it over the holidays! With the extra time, it might be tempting to start staying up late or lounging around the whole day. Indeed, these are tempting ways to take a break from all the academic stress of the semester! But trying to stick to your habits will allow your body to maintain its physical and mental wellness, even as holiday stress sets in.
2. Set realistic goals and plan your time
Holiday breaks only consist of a limited number of days. That being said, it’s best to not overwhelm yourself with too many plans. While it may seem exciting to say yes to every invite, think about your priorities first. Do you want to spend time with your family, hang out with friends, exercise, do your hobbies, or catch up on some work? Having to juggle all your plans in a short amount of time may lead to unnecessary stress. Take some time to think ahead, and you can relax while enjoying all the activities you want to do.
3. Prepare for potential difficult conversations
Oftentimes, family members are our biggest stressors. It may be because they don’t share the same political views as you, or they might not approve of your academic path. The key to managing these is to come up with a strategy beforehand as to how you want to engage in difficult family conversations. Do you want to have a large group discussion, or do you want to talk with a family member one-on-one? What would be your goals for having a conversation? Do you want to engage in a conversation in the first place? Whatever you choose to do, try your best to stay calm, and prioritize your own well-being.
4. Practice self-care
Check in with yourself on how you’re feeling. Are you feeling tired, hungry, lonely, or angry? Try doing mindfulness exercises, taking a walk, eating your favorite snack, listening to music, or sleeping early. It’s important to take breaks and to give yourself time to reset. That way, you won’t drain your energy dealing with holiday stress.
5. Reach out to your support circle
You don’t have to keep all your stress in! Talking to someone you trust and someone who validates you can help relieve the pressure for balancing all your holiday plans and negative feelings. Connecting with others and talking about your feelings will greatly improve your mental well-being. You can also reach out to a Brandeis counselor before the holiday break starts to talk about potential challenges. Scheduling an appointment with the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) by calling 781-736-3730.
Sometimes even reframing how we think about and approach holiday situations can alleviate our stress, which you can learn more about in this Headspace article. With these tips, we hope you can enjoy a relaxing and joyful holiday season!
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