The Holidays are here, time to gather with family and celebrate, but for some, it’s also for a time for stress. In a recent survey by NBC, 37 percent of Americans stated that the holidays are the most stressful activity of their lives bringing even more anxiety than a job interview.

Family gathering and gift giving also means, social expectations, spending money, event planning, the possibility of re-engaging in family conflicts, and doing it all at the darkest coldest time of the year.

The good news is with a little planning and time management major holiday stress can be avoided. Here are some tips to help the mind body and spirit cruise through the season.

The body:

Take care of your body: Office and family feasts are often loaded with caffeine, sugar, fat and alcohol. While it’s great to eat chocolate soaked rum balls overindulgence will take its toll on the body and emotions. Choose your indulgences carefully. If you consume too much take a slice of turkey. Turkey contains L-tryptophan, which is an amino acid that helps your body make serotonin. Serotonin is the brain's own "feel good" drug.

Get proper rest: Having time off from work might seem like a vacation but chances are you’re going to be busy. Plan your down times, give yourself the gift of a nap to recharge the system.

Take vitamins - if your not taking vitamins this might be the time to start. If you are taking vitamins you might want to adjust your dosage to fulfill the extra holiday demands. B vitamins are great for stress release and will help give you extra energy for those long shopping excursions. Vitamins are also good for aiding digestion and helping your body cope with the extra dietary load.

Workout before the feast: Dreading the reappearance of Aunt Tillie’s wagging tongue and judgmental eye? Well there’s not too much you can do about spending time with unpleasant family but you can zap your stress away before and after with a good workout. Ten minutes of hitting a punching bag is better than dealing with the fallout of socking Aunt Tillie. You can always throw in a little gestalt and picture Aunt Tillie’s face on the bag while you’re hitting it.

The Mind:

Just Say NO. Try not to take on too many responsibilities. An overloaded social schedule, entertaining, gift shopping, travel can evoke stress in the most organized person. Even though it’s a time for peace on earth sometimes the best way to ensure peace is to just say no thank you.

It’s just a movie: The holiday season can be long and seemingly endless. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by social demands remind yourself that holidays are just one part of the year, a part that quickly passes. It might seem like forever but it ends.

Don’t buy into the advertising: There’s a lot of social expectation set up in the media. When you’re inundated with songs like "it’s the most wonderful time of the year” along with a media blitz telling you that you ought to be perfectly happy and clean eating exquisite foods with family. Getting caught in the hype is easy to do

It’s not easy to live up to the image in fact, since we don’t live in a media generated fantasy world it’s impossible. When you notice the frayed edges of real realty try not to blame yourself. It might even help to repeat the phrase. "I don’t live in media world I live in the real world." If you feel yourself getting caught up try to remember one simple fact: It’s
only advertising.


Spirit:

Meditation tip: Letting go. Family time can be time when you face the people who know every one of your psychological hot buttons. After all chances are they’re the ones that installed them. That’s why the holiday season is a great time for the letting go meditation. Here’s how you do it.

Sit quietly and take ten to fifteen deep breaths, deep breathing goes a long way towards calming the mind. For a deeper level of relaxation follow the breathing technique with letting go of your thoughts. While sitting quietly, when a thought comes up, give it the label: thought.

By labeling the thought, you see it as the object it is and thereby breaking its power. Once you’ve labeled it let it go and relax. If the thought returns simply repeat the process. It can be a bit tricky at first and you might find yourself following the thoughts for a while. That’s okay too. If you notice yourself doing that, take a few deep breaths, relax, and bring yourself back to center. Just five or ten minuets of meditation a day is a proven stress buster.

If you can’t handle reality: Take drugs:

Sometimes "mother’s little helper" is just what you need to help you adjust if they’re the right drugs you’ll be doing yourself a favor. On top of the list is a good Chamomile Tea, it will help you sleep at night and sooth the nerves during the day.

5-HTP, or 5-hydroxytryptophan is a natural product, extracted from the seed of the Griffonia simplicifolia plant. 5-HTP metabolizes in the blood as serotonin. And our brains like serotonin a lot. It’s great for depression and giving you that all around good feeling.

Valerian root tea. Valium anyone? They don’t often mention it on the tea box but valerian root is the natural base of Valium. Use it with caution.

Peace on Earth and goodwill toward all starts with you and it’s a lot easier to love your fellow human when you’re relaxed.

© Melt Magazine 2002