While the holidays have the power to bring some of the most joyful times in your life, they can also be the cause of a great deal of stress. The stress can stem from many different situations such as family disagreements, scheduling conflicts, and money issues.
No matter what situation your stress is coming from, it’s important to take a step back from the stress to hold onto your sanity.
If You Are With Someone
If you are in a relationship, remember that if you are feeling stressed about and during the holidays they are too. Take care of yourself, for sure, but be supportive of them as well. Helping your partner to keep their stress in check can only help you keep your stress levels in check too. Maintain an open dialog about what is going on with the two of you during the holiday season. BAM! men take care of themselves but we also look out for the people around us.
To Start The Conversation You Can Start By Reviewing The List Below And Then Sharing It With Your Partner As Well.
The Short List:
- Get Your Shopping Done Early.
- Take Some Time For Yourself. Allow Time For Your Partner
- Keep A Cool Head.
- Keep Up Your Exercise Routine.
- Watch What You Eat And Drink.
- Buy Yourself A Little Present.
- Get Enough Rest.
- Learn To Delegate.
- Be Flexible.
1. Get Your Shopping Done Early.
When you get your shopping out of the way early, you can save yourself stress on a number of levels.
- You won’t be battling other shoppers during peak shopping times.
- You won’t have to worry about making split second decisions on gifts.
- You’ll also have the time to craft a budget to help make your money stretch to the best of your ability.
2. Take Some Time For Yourself.
We often take the time to think of others during the holidays. While that’s very important to maintain, you can’t forget about yourself in the process. Remember to schedule “me” time and concentrate on winding down. In order to take good care of others, you first have to take care of your own health and well being.
Make sure that your partner gets to take a break too. Take the kids out for an evening to allow them some alone quiet time
3. Keep A Cool Head.
While it may not be a problem with every family, sometimes the togetherness causes conflicts and clashing. Before you enter a family holiday event, tell yourself that you’ll take the high road. You don’t want an argument to ruin your chance at fun during the holidays.
Remember if you are stressed chances are so is everyone else. Have a game plan with your partner on how to handle yourselves at the holiday events. If you have kids, make sure they know beforehand how they should try to behave.
4. Keep Up Your Exercise Routine.
Sometimes the thrill of the holiday season can disrupt your daily routines. While a little break from exercise might not make a big difference in your physique, it might make a difference when it comes to your stress level. Try to keep up some form of exercise, as it will provide you with a release from stress.
5. Watch What You Eat And Drink.
It’s not fair to yourself to completely avoid indulging around the holidays, but at the same time you should always remain in control. Watch what you’re putting into your body, because large amounts of certain foods and drinks can definitely affect how you feel. The two big ones to watch are caffeine and sweets.
Go easy on the eggnog for sure!
6. Buy Yourself A Little Present.
While you’ve been budgeting money for everyone else, there’s no reason why you can’t buy yourself a little something. After all, you’re sure to be getting something that you want.
Even better, get your partner a pre-holiday present as a token of your appreciation for all that they are doing this time of year. One idea, schedule for them, for yourself, or together a couples massage. A massage is an excellent way to maintain a healthy stress level and can be very romantic.
7. Get Enough Rest.
The excitement definitely kicks in during the holidays. Sometimes you’ll lose sleep because of stress, and sometimes you’ll lose sleep because of excitement. Either way, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by concentrating on relaxation and getting to bed at a good hour. If you start a pattern of getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night, you could be setting yourself up for stress without even really knowing it.
8. Learn To Delegate.
If you come to the realization that you’ve been put in charge of too many things, don’t pile on the stress – instead, delegate the tasks. Be wise enough to know when you need some help and ask for it. You can even get the kids involved with certain preparations.
And if your partner is the “Holiday Boss”, be sure to offer them some help. Just because they are an amazing person, “that can get it all done”, they can probably use some help with some things.
9. Be Flexible.
Of course you have an image in your head of how you’d like certain holiday events to play out. You also know that things don’t always go according to plan or they way that you want them to. Realize that certain things will not be perfect, and you won’t feel so much stress if things do go wrong. Go with the flow and have back up plans if necessary.
Conclusion
The holidays should be a time to bring you and your family some of the most joyful times in your lives. The holidays can also be the cause of a great deal of stress for all of us. The stress comes from many different situations such as family disagreements, scheduling conflicts, and money issues.
No matter what situation your stress is coming from, it’s important doe you to take a step back from the stress to hold onto your sanity. And it may be even more important for you to make sure that your partner is doing well too. Pay attention. Be aware, make sure that you are doing okay, but look out for your loved ones too.
BAM! Be A Man. Do The Right Thing. Take Care Of Yourself And Your Family. Happy Holidays!
BAM! Be A Man. Do The Right Thing.
Be The DtRTy Guy!