Holiday Stress? Here are 9 Tips to Remain Calm and Happy

The Holidays are upon us, and for a lot of people it’s simply one of the best and most relaxing weeks of the entire year. However, it’s not the same for some of us who have a tendency to overthink the holidays. What happens then is, instead of being a fun and festive season, the holidays become yet another reason to be stressed out.

The holidays are meant to be that one period every year that should make everyone feel warm, relaxed, and looking forward to being with the people you love and care about. So for those who often stress about the holidays, here are the 9 things you can do right now to de-stress and enjoy the last few weeks of the year.

1.   Be okay with “okay.”

A lot of us will be busy trying to make everything have this fun, festive, Christmas-y theme. From decor and gift wraps all the way to the food and games. However, if all these preparations are making you lose sleep or you start panicking and wondering what a disaster it would be if things go “wrong,” then what you should do is take a step back and realize that at the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts.

You have to realize that you have to let go of the things you can’t control and having a “perfect” holiday gathering is one of them. No one ever has it perfectly done and even if things don’t go as planned, the only person who knows it will be you.

2.   Listen to podcasts

Holiday traffic is no joke, especially if you work or reside near the big cities. Good thing radio isn’t dead, but if you’re no longer fond of what today’s DJs are cranking, you can then listen to your favorite podcasts while you drive, and especially when you’re stuck in traffic. Who knows? You might end up learning something new by the time you emerge out of that freeway and you wouldn’t have felt the traffic at all.

3.   Don’t stress over long grocery lines

Grocery lines are the type of traffic that you can’t really avoid. At least with city traffic, you can take shortcuts or just avoid the main roads altogether, but grocery lines don’t exactly have those options. As stressful as they can be, you’re just gonna have to tell yourself “If this is the worst thing that happened to me today, then I’m lucky.”

Grocery lines are long, but they’re not eternal. So maybe you can play a game on your phone, have a good (long) talk with your friend or family member, or perhaps just read a book as the line slowly shortens.

4. Count the number of things you’re thankful for

Similar to how you cope with long grocery lines, thinking about all the good things that have happened to your life so far should outweigh whatever it is that’s stressing you out at this moment.

5. Buy supplements that can help with stress

Supplements are not just the type you take when exercising or to help fill nutritional gaps. There are some supplements out there that can directly influence stress. For anti-stress supplements, we recommend Serenelle.

 Serenelle is a supplement that can help you focus, keep calm, and just have those feel-good moments.

6. Get some sunlight

Sunlight isn’t just for vitamin D. As it turns out, getting a bit of sun exposure can help activate some of the chemicals inside your brain that promote mood and reduce stress.

7.  Have a good walk outside

Don’t you just feel good when you go out hiking or camping? Even just tending to your small plants and flowers calms you down, and science agrees. Some studies correlate intense stress with a lack of exposure to nature or greenery, citing those who barely go out are also some of the most stressed out people.

Other than the magical beauty of nature, walking outside means you’re also exercising which then stimulates some of the “feel good” chemicals in your brain.

8. Don’t overdo your Holiday activities

Your holiday list shouldn’t be longer than your bucket list. Keep it simple or go for easy to do instead of overachieving. Then, sit back and relax as you watch your friends try to do a hundred holiday things in two weeks.

9. Make a list of things to do

Perhaps the greatest weapon against stress is preparedness and just taking the holidays on in an organized approach, and you can do this by simply making a list. So long as you have your list (as well as ordered them according to priority), you will never panic about forgetting anything or bite your nails because you don’t know what to do first.

Takeaway…

The year has been a stressful one, so there shouldn’t be a need to add more to that during the holidays. Take it easy, make a list of simple things to do, don’t try to perfect everything, and most importantly, think about the things you’re thankful for each time you feel like the world is against you. If you want a bit of help with de-stressing, taking Serenelle ought to help support your de-stressing efforts.