Surviving Holiday Stress

Welcome to Tuesday’s Tips, the one day a week when I dispense useful, actionable and empowering tips!

The holiday season is upon us, Folks. How do I know? Because I can’t fit another client into my schedule, that’s how. Did you know that shrinks have a ‘busy season’? We do, and from mid October through the end of the year, I have as many client hours as I generally have in 6 months.

Holidays stress people out. Whether it’s the additional responsibility of gift buying, impending family visits, memories of loved ones no longer with us or a still-mending-heart following a breakup, November and December are the most stressful months of the year.

This year, I’m dedicating every Tuesday to dispensing 1 tip designed to help YOU survive the holidays.

SELF-CARE. Don’t roll your eyes at me. I know it’s a lame-sounding term. It’s also essential to increase it if you want to compensate for the stress of the holidays.

Today, I want you to commit to the following:

Increase your water intake.  Technically, you’re supposed to drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day. So if you weigh 120 pounds, that’s 60 ounces of water daily. That’s 3 ½ medium-sized bottles of water. Yes, it’s a lot, but did you know that roughly 30% of anxiety and depressive symptoms can be attributed to dehydration? If you’re thirsty, it’s too late. You should be drinking so much water that your pee has no color and you should never feel thirst. PS it will also cut down on your hunger – bonus.

Adhere to a workout regime. Don’t wait until January 1st. That’s such a fucking cliché. Be unique. Find a friend who will commit with you to working out 3 times a week through the end of the year. When all is said and done, you’ll have created a healthy habit for stress relief and you’ll have managed to navigate the holidays without packing on an extra 10 pounds.

I’ll see you next Tuesday for another tip designed to help YOU survive the holidays.