Do You Experience A Lot Of Social Stress Around The Holidays?

You’ve seen all the cute holiday movies where everyone gets together and treats everyone with love and respect. Your family get-togethers might not have that same Norman Rockwell feel. Your mom still pesters you about being single. Your uncle still asks you to pull his finger. And your cousin, the surgeon, still makes fun of your sensible shoes.

The holidays aren’t all good times and cheer.

Try These Strategies For Less Stressful Social Experiences

1. Realize that the holidays have unreasonable expectations. We’ve been bombarded with messages that the holidays should be wonderful, and everything should be just right. Few families actually have this experience. The holidays are stressful for most families. Realize that your situation might be much more typical than you think.

• The issues your family has the other 11 months of the year won’t just evaporate for the holidays. Relationships have inertia. They don’t change easily.

2. Have a game plan. Know which people and situations are likely to upset you. Attempt to avoid those situations and people whenever possible. Think about how you’ll deal with any negative emotions that you experience.

• Call a friend.
• Go for a walk.
• Go out for coffee.
• Listen to music.

3. Pamper yourself afterwards. A makeover, massage, short vacation, or a nice purchase is a way of being good to yourself after a tiring holiday season with the family.

4. Play it cool. Imagine you’re a forest monk sitting on a platform in the trees. Your job is to stay as serene as possible. No matter what your family throws at you, you resolve to maintain your composure.

5. Let go of the past. If you don’t have any long-standing negative feelings toward anyone in your family, you’re in the minority. A few parents are great. A few stink. Most of us had mediocre parents. There’s nothing you can do about the past. You can either continue to be tormented by it or let it go. The choice is yours.

If you’re having a hard time letting go of the past, there is a tool you can use to make the process a lot simpler. Solfeggio Meditations can help you let go of the past and create inner-peace which is a valuable asset when it comes to stress prevention. Click below to get a great meditation as a free gift.