Planning holiday parties, family celebrations, gift buying, stringing lights, decorating, school performances, and religious services: Just a few of the many obligations families have that can create wonderful memories—and extreme stress. Now that Halloween is over and the holiday season is in full swing, we are beginning to see Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations everywhere. The holidays can not only be joyous and special times to celebrate with family and friends, but also stressful times. Finding ways to prevent and relieve stress during the holidays can help you and your family create meaningful memories for years to come.

Stress is a combination of physical responses, anxious thoughts, and emotional reactions that can make you feel jumpy and nervous, worried and upset. It causes physical changes and often impacts behavior. Physical symptoms of stress can include: racing heart, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath, sweating, fatigue, sleeping problems, irritability, tightness in the chest, overeating or undereating, and nausea. These are natural bodily responses to stress, and they let us know that something is not quite right.

Our thoughts also change when we feel stress. Because of the physical changes stress creates in our bodies, sometimes we have difficulty thinking clearly. The good news is that we can also affect our stress level by changing our thoughts. The way we think about stress is essential to helping reduce it. Often, stress is created or made worse by our own thoughts about our ability to manage it. Changing our attitude about the holidays and being thankful for what we have allows us to enjoy them with minimal stress.

Stress Prevention
Before the holiday season begins, set priorities. Determine as parents and as a family what the most important aspects of the season are. If you want the focus to be on the religious aspects of the holidays, first determine what you will do to ensure that this is what you focus on. If family is most important, first choose and schedule activities that will make this the priority. Then make lists of other obligations and important traditions and limit or say no to the rest.

• Set appropriate boundaries. Once you have prioritized, choose two or three aspects of each priority and make those special. Say no to the rest and leave the guilt behind. Forming your own family traditions is important, so make decisions based on what is best for your family. This often means bringing together the traditions of your family and those your spouse holds dear. By doing this, you create new traditions that your children will cherish. • Review your list of priorities often and make sure you are doing what is most important. Take time for yourself to slow down, relax and put things in perspective.
• Maintain healthy eating and exercise habits. The holidays offer many opportunities to eat wonderful food. Eating in moderation and exercising will help prevent and reduce stress.