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Check out this interview we did on Momlogic with Lisa Sharkey:
Last-minute shopping and meal planning making you reach for that candy bar and Diet Coke?
Lisa Sharkey: We hear so often about the stresses and strains or the holiday season, almost more than we hear of the joy and certainly more than we hear about concrete solutions for handling the inevitable tensions that crop up as you trim the tree. But now, two female doctors, Stephanie McClellan and Beth Hamilton, have given all of us some of the best advice I have heard in a long time.
Their new book, So Stressed: The Ultimate Stress-Relief Plan for Women, is a terrific guide to calming down through various simple techniques. Check out their answers to my top nine questions about holiday stress, and I hope you can breathe easier at your family's festivities!
1. How can I make the holidays a less stressful time? Instead of maintaining your focus on all you have to accomplish in a short period of time, allow your mind to focus on the joyous reminders of the holiday season around us. Use the music going on around you to help you bring your focus out of your stressed-out mind and into the spirit of the season. Also, plan ahead: buy a separate organizer to plan your calendar and keep track of your To-Dos for the holidays. Writing your thoughts in advance will help you to control and manage anxieties, and will reduce those last-minute worries about having forgotten something important. While you're at it, build in time for exercise and relaxation, too.
2. Stress causes me to eat, and with all the holiday cookies, candy, and eggnog around, I am beating myself up. Help!!! If the holidays weren't stressful enough, inevitably at this time of year, you'll be tempted with sugary, empty-calorie "comfort foods" just about wherever you go. Comforting foods can stimulate endorphin production and act as natural pain relievers. Don't be fooled! This quick sweet fix will fade quickly and instead will keep sending out signals that cause you to want to eat more and more. When you have a craving, eat a piece of dark chocolate. The chocolate will calm the craving and boost your endorphin production. Dark chocolate is less processed and has less sugar than other types of chocolate, but will still give you a yummy treat.
Snacks high in fiber are another good choice for you and will make you feel satisfied. Your digestion will benefit as people under stress are more prone to irritable bowel function, so the increase in fiber will help.
3. What simple thing can I do right before my family arrives for Christmas dinner to prepare myself for the barrage of stress? Take a music break. Program your iPod with uplifting music and have it ready. Allow yourself the time to sit and listen to just one or two songs. This engages the parasympathetic part of your nervous system, which is what helps us feel calm and soothed. Carry your iPod with you and take a one-song break whenever you feel overwhelmed.
4. How can I release all the anxiety around my dysfunctional family dynamics at holiday time? Turn your focus to things you can control. We can't control the behavior of those around us. We can only control our reactions. When we use rational thinking instead of emotional thinking, we disengage our body's harmful stress responses. It moves our thoughts from our mid-brain to the prefrontal cortex. When we use this part of our brain, we
