Minimizing holiday stress
By Joanne Foxjfox@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Thursday, November 27, 2008
Holiday stress hits everyone, but there are ways to cope. (Sioux City Journal illustration by Tim Hynds)
ONAWA, Iowa -- Instead of the "ho, ho, ho" feeling one should have around the holidays, many people embrace a "bah-humbug" approach due to the high stress level the merriest of seasons brings on.
Greg Nooney, director of mental health at Burgess Health Center, provided the analogy that the feelings people have as Christmas approaches is like a "trance," almost a hypnotic feel.
Christmas has its own special challenges because it doubles as a religious and cultural holiday, Nooney said.
"Some people focus on the cultural and some people focus on the religious and some combine both," he said. "But almost everyone is influenced by the Christmas season and many have expectations that need to be met."
The power that Christmas holds over individuals comes from the rituals and celebrations one recalls from childhood, Nooney said.
"How we did or didn't celebrate Christmas is embedded in us as adults, to the point where we believe there's a right way and a wrong way to celebrate," he explained. "It cuts to the core of who we are, how we react and what we do."
Even elements of the holiday -- like opening presents on the Eve or the Day -- can be serious points of contention, Nooney pointed out.
"They are serious elements that people have trouble changing because it's their tradition," he said. "You grow up expecting these traditions and sometimes not realizing you can change them."
Everything becomes a bit more complicated when you add a spouse or life partner to the mix, even if that person comes out of the same cultural and religious beliefs about the season, Nooney said.
Avoiding conflict and coming to a resolution on how the holiday should be celebrated takes time, listening and perhaps compromise, Nooney said. But acquiescing can be dangerous.
"Usually people just give in or decide to do anything just to survive," he said. "Know that you can't please everyone, so that's not going to work."
Nooney said his primary suggestion for eliminating holiday stress is to evaluate previous celebrations.
"Think about last year and what you liked, what you didn't like and why," he said. "Realistically evaluate the holiday and start looking a compromises."
To learn more about ways to lessen the stress related to the holiday season, read the story entitled, "Minimizing holiday stress" in the Journal's most recent Siouxland Life magazine and online at www.siouxcityjournal.com.
Greg Nooney, director of mental health at Burgess Health Center, provided the analogy that the feelings people have as Christmas approaches is like a "trance," almost a hypnotic feel.
Christmas has its own special challenges because it doubles as a religious and cultural holiday, Nooney said.
"Some people focus on the cultural and some people focus on the religious and some combine both," he said. "But almost everyone is influenced by the Christmas season and many have expectations that need to be met."
The power that Christmas holds over individuals comes from the rituals and celebrations one recalls from childhood, Nooney said.
"How we did or didn't celebrate Christmas is embedded in us as adults, to the point where we believe there's a right way and a wrong way to celebrate," he explained. "It cuts to the core of who we are, how we react and what we do."
Even elements of the holiday -- like opening presents on the Eve or the Day -- can be serious points of contention, Nooney pointed out.
"They are serious elements that people have trouble changing because it's their tradition," he said. "You grow up expecting these traditions and sometimes not realizing you can change them."
Everything becomes a bit more complicated when you add a spouse or life partner to the mix, even if that person comes out of the same cultural and religious beliefs about the season, Nooney said.
Avoiding conflict and coming to a resolution on how the holiday should be celebrated takes time, listening and perhaps compromise, Nooney said. But acquiescing can be dangerous.
"Usually people just give in or decide to do anything just to survive," he said. "Know that you can't please everyone, so that's not going to work."
Nooney said his primary suggestion for eliminating holiday stress is to evaluate previous celebrations.
"Think about last year and what you liked, what you didn't like and why," he said. "Realistically evaluate the holiday and start looking a compromises."
To learn more about ways to lessen the stress related to the holiday season, read the story entitled, "Minimizing holiday stress" in the Journal's most recent Siouxland Life magazine and online at www.siouxcityjournal.com.
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