| |
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersBlog EntriesMaking a Work Plan Work for YouHow to Stop Worrying3 Ways to Know If You’re Saying Yes Too Much3 Simple Shifts for a Stress-Free Holiday: A Busy Person's GuidePoetry as Pregnancy: When "The Shrink Rap™ on Mental Illness" Gives BirthWhy Are We So Busy?How to Get Out of a CrisisGive Yourself a Break!The Truth About StressLearn to Manage Your Stress ProactivelyThe Fastest Way to Boost Your MoodSlowing Your Life to Enjoy it More and Get More DoneThe Key to Overcoming ProcrastinationAntidote to Busy: 5 Simple Ways to Find Time for YouNatural SPEED: Stress Resiliency Shrink Rap™: Safe Stress Survival Strategies10 Things to Stop Caring About If You Want to Be HappierUsing Your "Free" Time to Enrich Your LifeIs Laughter Really the Best Medicine?Life is a Struggle - or Is It??The World of Work - Have We Got It All Wrong?Forms of EscapismRest in CenterBeware of Secondhand StressWhy Worry?Enjoy The Freedom Not ToSimple Tips for a Stress-Free HolidayHoliday Coping with ADHD Children Accept DifficultyThe Beauty of Saying "No"Maybe It's Time to Come Out of the ClosetLate Sociologist Warned About Multitasking's Effect on WellnessMeditation and AnxietyTypes of Stress and Their SymptomsWhy Do We Dread Sunday: The Power of Anticipation?The Six "R" Road to Burnout Recovery - Part V: The Final "R"s - Relating and Risk-TakingA Generational-Digital Diatribe: Still, Don’t Be Afraid to Pet the Dinosaur (aka “Dinos & Digits”)Feel The SupportThe Six "R" Road to Burnout Recovery - Part IV: The Next Two "R"s - Retreating & WritingStress and Anxiety: The Impact the Government Shutdown and The Fiscal Cliff Had on PeopleThe Missing Parent Syndrome (MPS): How Psychosocial Loss Impacts Adult Children & Strategies for Building Bridges and Reworking the Grief - Pt ISports, Fans and StressFive Ways to See a Problem in a New LightThe Six “R” Road to Burnout Recovery – Part III: The First Two Strategic “R”s – Running and ReadingStress, Anxiety and Mindfulness MeditationThe Six "R" Road to Burnout Recovery - Part II: The Stress Doc's Strategic Brain-Body Map Can Stress Diminish the Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?Be the Boss of Your Smartphone Personal Discovery as Burnout Recovery: An Intimate Story of Hell to Glory - Part IWork, Stress and HealthAre You Self-Blaming and Self-Critical?Defining and Defeating ProcrastinationThe Four Stages of Burnout: The Erosive Spiral - Shrink Rap™ VersionTo Escape the Box, Embrace ParadoxBuilding Stress Resilience and Organizational Hardiness Despite Doing "More with Less"A Cool Shower for Icing a Blame-ThrowerRelax, You're Going to be CriticizedOf Self-Hatred and Self-CompassionIs the Stress Carrier a Modern Day Vampire? - Part II Safe Stress Tools for Survivin TNT Heaven - Part IWhat You Should Know About How Stress Shapes the BrainDrop the LoadSleeping, Eating & Gaming, Oh My: The Blood Sugar-Blood Pressure-Out for Blood TriangleOne Strategy to Put Your Technology on a LeashIt's Not Just Whether You're Stressed - It's Whether You Think You're Stressed3 Ways to Stop Worry24/7 SPEED/Resiliency Shrink Rap™:Safe Stress Survival StrategiesThe Impact of Small Stresses in Daily LifeJournaling and Mental Health Can Stress Make You Fat?Stressed at Work? You're Not AloneOf Anxiety and Stress Strengthening Stress Resiliency and Brain Agility with Humor and Natural SPEEDTake Back Your Time: How to Reduce Overwhelm in a Few Minutes a DayBooster Breaks at Work: Hit or Bust?Overcoming Stress by Volunteering With Your DogBoston: Compassion During a Terrorist AttackAnger and Stress, Letting It All OutYour Body Under Stress: DNA, Cells and AgingWhat is Radical Acceptance Anyway?New Research Shows Chronic Stress Accelerates Alzheimer's DiseaseThe Power of Mindfulness for TeensDepression and Learned HelplessnessTake a Dip in PleasureCome to CenterStress and Shingles, Mind and Body are OneYour 14:57 Minute RuleCan Understanding Neuroscience Free Us from Downward Spirals?Is It Possible? Stress and The Older AdultOnline Tools for Managing StressLoneliness, A Health HazardStress and Depression, Those Monday MorningsCan Mindfulness Make Us More Productive and Happier?Just Breathe: A Practice to Calm the Anxious MindStrategies to Keep Work Stress at BayThe Importance of ForgivenessRescuing and Rejuvenating a Manager at the Bureaucratic Burnout BattlefrontHoliday Stress QuizIt's the Holidays! Four Ways to Calm the Stressed MindNow and Then, Stress Is a Good ThingObesity, An Addiction?Cultivating Patience in Everyday LifeDo Stress Can Kill You Articles Cause You to Worry More? 6 Ways Mindfulness Can Improve Your Daily Life Are Self-Hate and Prejudice Against Others Different?How to be Wise About FearPractice a Self-Care Diet5 Signs of Emotional Exhaustion at Work The Brain in Your GutHow to Relax When Faced With School and Work StressWhat are the Real Roots of Workplace Stress?Some thoughts About Returning to School and LearningStrangers and The Need For Personal SpaceFind StillnessRecognize How Precious Your Life IsHuman Behavior, My Brain Made Me do It?Stress and the Dangers of AlcoholWhen Keeping Calm and Carrying On is Not EnoughHugging is Good MedicineBurnout and (Vicarious) Trauma-Inducing Work Environments: Part IIIProvocation, Anger and ReactionA Mindful Way Through ProcrastinationStress on the Rise? Two Simple Practices to Find ReliefThe Cascade Effect of Emotional StressOn Laughing and LaughterExercise: Building the "Can Do" MuscleWhy Are People in Such a Hurry?On Being OptimisticA 3 Day Plan to Break Free from IrritationDepressed, Forgetful? Take a Walk in the ParkFast Food, Health and DepressionHaving Trouble Exercising? Cultivate a Mindful HabitOlfactory Sensations (Smell) and Stress ReductionAvoid the RushThe Transitional Objects and Self ComfortChange Your Body, Change Your MindStress Reduction, Tropical Fish and AquariumsThe Erosive Grief-Ghost Spiral - Part III: Burnout Exposing the Burn-in...Burn-in Exploding the BurnoutSome Comments on Belief, Religion and Mutual RespectThe Impact of Stress and AngerA Fun and Mindful Way to Transform Your Child's StressBurn-in, Burnout, and Workplace Griefbusting: Part IA Classic Tip for Stress Reduction at Work Leave the Red ZoneHow to Use Mindfulness Meditation in your LifeThe Secret Ingredient to Making Change StickPut Yourself on Your Priority ListResentment vs.ForgivenessTwo Communicational Tools Providing Perspective, Patience and PresenceThe Pain of Breaking Up, Are You Self-Compassionate?Simple Life Wisdom from Comedian Louis C.K.It's the SAD SeasonBreaking Bad Habits in the New YearWant a Healthier Life? The Mindful DietPerception is Everything, Watch Out for Advertising TricksEconomic Difficulty? The Importance of Self-Compassion and Strategy for the HolidaysA Radical Way to Bring More Joy into Your LifeWhy Did this YouTube Video at 3 Million Hits? Step into the Clouds: Relieving StressStay in Shape in 5 Minutes a DayAngst in the Face of Economic Meltdown: Managing Your Anxiety When The Stress Won't Go Away! Part IIAngst in the Face of Economic Meltdown: Managing Your Anxiety When The Stress Won't Go Away! Part IThe Top Seven Sources of Stress and Their RemediesLower the PressureWanting Relief? Find Quiet a Few Minutes a DaySensory Overload, Tension and Stress New Video: Why Women Get StressedNational Debt, Stress and Perception, Is It Really That Bad?Got IBS? Study Says to Try a Little MindfulnessIs Mindfulness Uniquely Buddhist? Psychotherapy: Clarifying Some MisconceptionsThe Benefits of Owning a PetThe Frustration of Arguing About the TruthA Manifesto on Curbing the Technology TrapFeeling Overwhelmed? Take a BreakThe Cycle of Life: War, Peace, Happiness, and...On SuperstitionsThe Frustration of WaitingDrop this Thought in and See What Truth ArisesA Simple Yet Important Phrase to Bring into Your LifeHave You Tried the Freedom Practice? Parents and Coping and the Terrible TwosAnxiety, Worry, Stress: Living in the MomentStress, Emotions and Body ResponseTake My Advice, I'm Not Using ItProfessional Sports, Stress and DepressionMindfulness in Daily LifeI Found That Story Very "Touching"Cortisol: Why You Need to Know About ItRecharging Yourself Through Relationships and Giving to OthersNewly Married Couples and Sexual FrequencyCash Still Tight Around the Holidays? A 3 Step SolutionManaging Holiday Stress: Families + Holidays Do Not Always = Warm and Fuzzy TimesMindfulness, Intuition and the BrainThe Art of Pacing - Live Long and ProsperThe Pleasure, Beauty and Power of MusicDialectical Behavior Therapy Skills that Help Women Survive Stress Mindfulness for Stressed Teens: An Expert Interview With Gina Biegel, MA, LMFTDid You Know? Some Surprising Data about Stress An Expert Interview with Darrin Zeer on Managing Work Stress Where You Need to Look to Change Your LifeMake Your Life as Inconvenient as PossibleHow to Be Sick: A Mindful GuideA Lesson from Psalm 126New Research: Mindfulness and Adolescent Boys A Bit of Humor that Can Change Your DayHow a Flexible Body Makes a Flexible MindThe Mind Traps that Hold Us BackRewiring Your Brain for the Digital Age: A Good Thing?Software to Help with our Web Addictions? Bad Habits: Do You Have a Choice? The Most Important Way to Start Your DayIs the Storm Outside or In Your Mind? Thx: A 1 Minute Exercise Opening to the Space in Your Life: A Needed Reflection12 Hours Unplugged: Cravings, Urges, and Insights Oh My! Saturday: The 12 Hour Unplug Challenge What You Need to Know about the Dangers of Meditating for Relaxation Facebook: Research Shows Your Privacy at RiskThe Link Between Anger and StressNeuroplasticity: The Good, Bad and How it Affects YouUsing Your Brain to Work with Difficult Emotions3 Practical Steps to Making a Happier BrainHow to Find the Wisdom Inside to Mend Your Life Forgot Resolutions Already? 2 Strategies to Get You Back on TrackTrauma: A Mindful DialogueThoughts are Not Facts: A Story Everyone Should KnowHow to Slow Down Your Racing Heartbeat When Feeling AnxiousWhat Everyone Should Know About the Dangers Facebook Poses to Your RelationshipsElisha Goldstein's Top 10 Blog Posts for 2009Your Worry or Your Life? Sensory OverloadDo You Have the "I am a Fraud" Syndrome?An Interview with Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Mindfulness at WorkBeyond Thanksgiving: Your Next Stop...How Your Mind Sabotages Your Best Intentions: 3 Steps to Breaking FreeDepression? Stress? How Sweet they Are? A Dissertation on Dark ChocolateWhat is the Key to Less Stress at Work and Life?4 Steps to Losing the Electronic LeashKeeping You Sane: Do You Need a Day Out? You vs. Procrastination: 1 (Mindful) Secret to Winning the BattleAn Evaluation of Self Help Books and AffirmationsIn a Falling Economy, Trust Your Gut Or Reason? Can Anxiety Be a Good Thing? An Interview with Ilan Meyer, Ph.D, on the Effects of Stress on Minority Mental HealthFeeling Stuck? Two Things You Need to Know to Make a Change Elisha Goldstein's Top 10 Mental Help Blog Posts3 Steps Out of Helplessness 4 Steps to Spiritual Health and Well-BeingDo You engage in Emotional Eating?Hope: Our Greatest Antidepressant5 Factors of Resilience to Engage Today! What About the Good News? The Psychology of Twitter, Mindfulness and Your Mental Health Stress Relief: A Simple FormulaEco-Altruism and Your Mental Health3 Ways to Stay Up in a Depressed Work EnvironmentIts Enough to Make You Sick, News Coverage of the Swine FluLife Feel Overwhelming? Lessons From a DishwasherTax Day: Overcoming Stress 1 Strategy for Everyday Mental HelpTrain Your Mind to Tame Your StressIf you lived here…Unhappy Wife = Unhealthy Life? 5 Ways to Achieve MiseryHow Mindfulness can Help You Walk Away from Stress Today"All Work and No Play Make Jack and Jill Dull...."How this economic recession can pull you into an emotional recession without you even knowing it. 5 key steps that can helpBreaking down Martin Luther King's psychology of faith and how it can help you today...Rising teen anxiety! 4 strategies to help your kid todayCollege Stress and Pets:How this new economy can threaten your family without you even knowing itHandling The Stress of the 2008 Holiday SeasonTinnitus, The Annoying Sound Inside Your Head"Music Hath Charms to Soothe the Savage Breast"How to take advantage of the holidays and stave off stress, anxiety, and depressionFacing Economic Stress: women are taking it harder than men.Itching, Another Example of Mind-Body InteractionHow you can be in the flow of life more often and increase your happinessOne strategy you’ll want to know to be less stressed and more focused at work and life! What does an Iraqi war veteran have to teach you about stress? The mental help of a smile, what's in it for you? Anger…constructive, destructive, or both?Too smart for our own good? How we perpetuate stress and how to change! Stock market crash, mortgage crisis, rising inflation: What you need to know for stress relief and sanity! Liberal morality versus conservative morality: Understanding the difference can help you avoid argumentsWhen will the next addictive trigger hit you? One practice to make sure you’re ready for it. What do Barack Obama and Sarah Palin have to do with your mental health?How stressed out are you? 2 brain nuggets to help you break free today We've all heard of dental floss, but mental floss to prevent stress, anxiety, and depression? TIME OUT! 2 Things you can practice today to stave off anxiety and depression in this hectic time. Is work stress threatening your sanity? This approach will help you make a change now! The X Factor in HappinessThis habitual way of dealing with emotions causes more harm than good; 3 tips to change it now! Coping with the Challenges of Daily StressesNew and Improved Stress Reduction Topic CenterToo Muchness: When Life Gets to Feeling Like it's All Too MuchBurnout, What It Is and What To Do About ItMaintaining Mental Health During the HolidaysStress and Obesity, It's Official: Relaxation is Necessary for HealthI Want to ForgetMen and Anger and Heart Disease RevisitedMeditation: More BenefitsOur Fast Paced LivesWhy Do You Wash the Dishes?Humor Is A Laughing MatterDogs, Social Support and Health: A Winning CombinationA Primer on Coping (and some Holiday applications)Insufficient Arousal - Activation: From Emptiness to Inertia VideosLinksBook Reviews |
| | |
Handling The Stress of the 2008 Holiday SeasonAllan N. Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D. Updated: Dec 10th 2008 Traditionally, the Christmas Holidays have meant people going shopping and spending lots of money to buy gifts for children, friends and family. Everyone was accustomed, pleasantly but mostly unpleasantly to handling bills accumulated during the spending spree for all of those presents. However, this year is different for almost everyone.
As we enter the Christmas Holiday season of 2008 many families are faced with a sharply diminished capacity to spend money shopping for gifts. Many people have suffered terrible losses such as their: 1. Homes due to mortgage foreclosures, 2. Jobs because of companies going out of business, 3. Life savings and investments due to the stock market. Wishing to be in the holiday spirit there is a temptation to use credit cards to make purchases for the immediate gratification of th gift giving that characterizes the holidays. However, if people gratify the impulse to spend when they do not have cash, they will face extreme pain, like never before, after the New Year when the bills come due and there is an inability to pay creditors for the purchases. This will add considerably to the suffering that is occurring right now. Are there ways to avert the terrible anxiety from having added to the list of bills due? The answer is yes, but it calls for some self control and calm thinking and planning. Stephanie S. Smith, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist with the Front Range Psychological Associates of Colorado, and her colleagues, suggest some of these ideas to reduce stress during this season. 1. None of us can control the economy or the stock market but we can take charge of our health and diet. Maintain your level of exercise. There is a tendency to stop exercise programs because of all the parties to attend and all the shopping to be done. Along with this, control what you eat and be moderate when going to parties. In fact, say no to certain parties. There is no need to attend everyone and going to all of them gets "pretty old fast." 2. Set a strict budget and stay with it even if it hurts. Maintain a shopping list that includes expenditures so that you are not faced with a shock after the New Year. Be certain that the budget will be such that the post holiday season will not come as a financial shock. 3. Talk openly and honestly with friends and relatives about your financial situation. With the economy the way it is there is no shame in telling friends and family that "I cannot buy gifts this season because I do not have a job, or the money and means to do so." Tell people that gifts will be given but only to children under fifteen years old and tell children that Santa is not bringing as many presents this year. 4. There are many activities that are fun during the holidays but cost nothing. Even if you have a job, engage in some volunteer work. Volunteering helps everyone feel really good and provides a sense of enhanced self esteem for what has been done. It's a "win-win" type of thing. 5. Give your self time for you self through such things as meditation, yoga, listening to soft and pleasing music or any type of activity that feels good. 6. If you drink at parties, use moderation and refrain from driving drunk. Avoid drinking to excess. 7. Same idea with regard to food: eat foods during this season, in moderation. 8. Instead of purchasing new clothes for the holiday parties use what was worn last year. That can save a lot of money. This way it is possible to attend the party and engage in the spirit of the season. 9. Have a holiday party devoted to everyone trading away the clothes they hate or no longer want. One person's ugly sweater is often another person's beautiful garment. 10. If you find comfort in religion, go to Church, Synagogue, Mosque. Or, if you wish, get in touch with your sense of spirituality and meditation can help do that. 11. If you remain feeling bad during or after the holiday, see a therapist. It could be that only a couple of sessions will help you recover your sense of balance. 12. Many people feel a sense of loss or emptiness after the excitement of Christmas and New Years celebrations. I always recommend that people give themselves something to look forward to. It could be having a get together with family and friends but, whatever it is, there is no need to spend money and there are many satisfying things to do. As stated earlier, the idea is to foster an attitude that you have control over many aspects of your life. It always feels better to know that you have control than to feel left feeling helpless. Have a great holiday season, but keep things in perspective. If you are struggling with finances, jobs, and moods, you are not alone and do not hesitate to ask for help. How do cope with the holidays? Your comments are encouraged. Allan N. Schwartz, PhD |