Staying Healthy and Happy This Holiday Season

There is a memorable television skit that highlights the hidden underbelly of stress that surrounds the holidays. In the scene, several family members gather for a holiday event. A fight erupts and soon the characters are embroiled in a raucous screaming match over past grievances. One individual gives a pained look and sarcastically sings, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year. . .”

As the holiday season approaches, friends and family await Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa with great anticipation. Although we may hope for a gathering that reflects the Norman Rockwell painting of a happy family around a table of wonderful food, sometimes the reality of our holidays does not match the fantasy. Overspending, overindulging and overscheduling can leave families disappointed when the picture-perfect holiday never materializes. 

“We all remember our holidays from childhood,” says Sue Weinstein, R.N., Director of Women’s Health Education at Saint Barnabas Medical Center and a nationally certified holistic nurse. “Either we hope to model our holidays on the past or hope to change our holidays in light of unpleasant memories. Either way, it is the expectation of what the perfect holiday consists of that can leave us disappointed if those expectations are not met.” 

The Overextended Holiday Parent
Parents are truly the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain of seemingly effortless holiday festivities. While attempting to create the perfect celebration, frazzled parents juggle a huge workload combined with a house full of relatives. What family members may not appreciate is that the  parent who shops, wraps presents, cooks fancy meals, cleans the house, decorates and mails the cards is also the parent who is holding down a job or raising children, or both. Holidays mean double duty for busy parents.

“A helpful strategy for overwhelmed parents is to prioritize their expectations,” says Ms. Weinstein. “Families should choose what is important to them during the holidays and expend energy in fewer directions.” For example, she says if food is the focal point, then prepare fancy meals. If not, consider having the food catered. If decorations and presents are key, then shop in malls and enjoy your purchases. If not, shop online or by catalog to reduce stress. If time spent together with the extended family is the focus, plan a big get-together. If not, consider breaking into smaller groups to celebrate or spread the get-together over a longer period of time, such as an open house.

Ms. Weinstein also recommends that parents plan ahead, leave extra time for themselves and consider relaxing their standards a little. Women, in particular, tend to value themselves by how well they feel they are caring for others, says Ms. Weinstein. Such high expectations can be difficult to meet.

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