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Too much emphasis on holiday stress can be stressful

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To those people who thought they were handling the holidays with aplomb: Think again. We’re all threatened by the extra shopping, cooking and travel that the end of the year often brings.

That’s the only explanation for the seemingly endless advice on how to de-stress the holidays. It began arriving before the turkey and Tofurky leftovers were put away, and it hasn’t slowed since....

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There’s the ready-for-public-consumption primers found following such headlines as ‘Coping with holiday stress,’ ‘To reduce holiday stress, reduce your expectations,’ ‘How to de-stress this holiday season,’ ‘Ease holiday stress with dose of ‘me-time’.’

And then there’s the standing-by-with-tips experts:

  • We have psychiatrists warning against waiting until the last minute to make plans. But we’re to schedule in time to help others, presumably the less fortunate.
  • There’s the integrative medicine expert recommending homeopathy for those anxious moments when ‘you have too much on your mind and the demands of job, children and family make you feel like you will lose it.’
  • And the psychologist suggesting avoiding, or reducing, alcohol consumption, lest we succumb to the blues.
  • And, of course, a neurobiology professor, not to be outdone, who’s available to discuss stress’ potential damage to the prefrontal cortex.

If you weren’t stressed before, you will be soon.

May we suggest this very basic advice on maintaining holiday cheer.

-- Tami Dennis

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