
I had previously blogged about the stress of Christmas (December 2014) and then provided a few ideas on how to start getting ready for the next Christmas to hopefully make it less stressful (January 2015).
Congratulations if you did start to plan and write out your calendar when you wanted to start certain activities. This can help control the December rush! Even if you haven’t gotten to the point where you are writing in dates yet, it is not too late. You can start now. Start by re-reading my blogs from December 2014 (Christmas Stress) and January 2015 (Next Christmas). Since Christmas is seen as a happy time of the year, but is often experienced with stress, dread, and feelings of overwhelm, taking just a bit of time now to write in dates and ideas can help the busyness of Christmas from overwhelming you.
What have you liked about previous Christmases? What would you like to do again this next Christmas?
What was too much and you would like to change for the holidays? What brings on the greatest amount of stress, anxiety, overwhelm or depression? Spend some time now time to think about how you would like to change those things.
While you have a few minutes waiting for the kids at lessons or a soccer game – start searching for events you might like to attend. Are there yearly Christmas events in your area that you vowed last year to attend but didn’t? Get a head start by seeing if there are dates already set and when you can get tickets. If the dates aren’t set yet or the tickets aren’t out put reminders in your calendar to check back regularly so you don’t miss out this year. If there are dates available get out your calendar and start to schedule in those times.
If there are pictures to be taken or cards to be bought and written, write those dates in the calendar now. Are you planning to make some cards or some of the presents this year? Write down the supplies list and when are you going to work on these projects? Then work backwards on when you need to research the instructions, get the supplies, etc.
Also start to schedule in some fun times for you and your family and friends. Plan an evening to watch a classic Christmas movie or play a favourite game or sing Christmas carols or go for a walk to see the lights in your neighbourhood.
Since Christmas is consistently one of the most stressful times of the year, taking time to plan ahead can offer a way to mitigate some of that stress and overwhelm.
If you would like more help with general anxiety, depression, stress, or overwhelm from a specific life event, please call Heather at 604-375-3010 or email at heather@discoverycounselling.ca