There is no denying the fact that some people come out worse for wear after the holidays. Although the holidays are meant to be a time to relax and have a lot of fun, some people end up being stressful and frantic. If you’re a working mother, it is more than likely that the holiday season shall end up being really stressful for you as you try to juggle Santa’s arrival on one hand and those harsh year-end deadlines on the other. In fact, a study also showed that women were about 11% more stressed than men during the holiday season. The biggest problem is that even though women have made huge inroads in their professional lives over the years, they still carry out a lot of domestic duties, including most of the entertaining guests and gift purchasing chores. Women also tend to have a longer to-do holiday list when compared to men. To help you reduce some of your stress this holiday season, OROGOLD Cosmetics reviews some of the main reasons that cause stress and helps you to understand how to deal with them. But, before we review the main reasons and their solutions, you need to realize that there is no quick fix to such things. Ultimately, it all depends on a few shifts in mindsets and the faster you make those shifts, the easier it becomes to enjoy your holidays.
Don’t force yourself to believe that you “should” be doing things
The word “should” needs to be thrown out of your dictionary. We often hear people around us saying that we should do this and should do that and the language simply gets stuck in our minds. As a result, we end up feeling the pressure to do something, despite being in no mood to do so. Some of the most common examples are making gingerbread houses with your kids, inviting people for drinks, decorating your house the way X or Y neighbor does and baking shortbread. These beliefs usually stem from peer pressure and social expectations. Sometimes, they also stem from what you expect yourself to be doing during the holidays. The simplest way of reducing your stress levels this holiday season is to stop saying “should”. An ideal way is to replace your “should” terminologies with things that you would really like to do. Things like inviting your closest friends for dinner or treating yourself to a spa session.
Stop running after perfection
Another thing that causes a lot of stress is trying to perfect things around us. Striving for perfection during the holiday season is very common and it easily ends up causing a lot of stress. In striving for perfection, you usually end up missing out on the whole idea of celebrating the festive season with your loved ones, making it harder for yourself to actually enjoy the experience. So, instead of trying to keep up with the ever-changing world, be satisfied with things that you can do. Things that might not be perfect, but are “good”. You never know. You might end up having some fun in the process as well.
Help others and show gratitude
OROGOLD has already discussed the importance of gratitude and incorporating it into your daily lives. Studies show that extending kindness to others and helping others release a number of feel good hormones that act as anti-depressants and soothe your mind. Look around you and you’re sure to find people who need help. Help those people with whatever they need to be helped with. These little moments can really lift your mood.
Bust your stress
The more uptight you become, the more stressful you are likely to feel. Pent up feelings of stress lead to more stress and end up making you feel miserable. The ideal way to reduce your stress is to actually reduce it. Do things that you like doing, spend some quality time with your loved ones, play with your pet, spend some “me time” – there are a number of things that you can do to release stress from your life.
Remember, you only have these few days every year to enjoy yourself and celebrate life. Get things off your mind and don’t let others “should” on you.
