Between now and Dec. 31st, The Patriot Ledger will bring you stories about South Shore people in need this holiday season.
The money you give will be used to help meet the needs of the people they write about and of many other of our neighbors who are struggling this holiday season. The Lend a Hand fund will share your donations among long-established and wide-reaching community service agencies. Partners again this year are Quincy Community Action, South Shore Community Action and South Shore Mental Health.
Individuals and families whose stories you read have been chosen by the agencies as representatives of their hundreds of clients who live, work and attend school on the South Shore.
You can make a Lend a Hand donation online, or with the Lend a Hand coupon for you to print out and send in with your donation to those in need this holiday season.
Tips For Reducing Stress And Enjoying The Holidays
By Phil Quinn, Sc.D.
South Shore Mental Health
As the days get shorter and we approach the winter solstice we find ourselves in the middle of the Holiday Season. The season which began at Thanksgiving and continues until the New Year can be both an exciting and stressful time. Many people surprisingly find themselves feeling depressed and anxious during this time of the year. It is important to evaluate our level of depression and determine if we have a clinical depression that may be caused by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or the Holiday Blues. SAD is characterized by intense feelings of sadness, low motivation, hopelessness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, increased need for sleep and weight gain. If you feel that you may have SAD, it is important to consult your primary care physician or mental health professional. The symptoms of the Holiday Blues are similar to SAD but are not as intense. The Holiday Blues is often caused by family and financial stress as well as the desire to have a perfect holiday.
The Holiday Season is an exciting time, but can be ruined by stress. If we turn stress into strain during the Holidays we may miss the True Spirit of the season. If we make a few changes in our lives, however, we can avoid the “Bah Humbugs” and the Holiday Blues. So take a few minutes every day of this holiday season to relax and enjoy. The following are some tips can help us ward off the Holiday Blues and enjoy the Holiday Season.
Plan: Take control of the Holidays. With proper planning we can minimize the impact of stress. It is alright to discontinue old traditions that no longer meet our needs and start new family traditions.
Understand Your Feelings: All of us are under pressure to be happy during the Holidays. It is important to understand that we have myriad feelings, including some sad feelings, during the Holidays.
Communicate and Compromise: Discuss Holiday plans with family members. Be assertive but recognize that family members also have needs.
Take Care of Your Health: Enjoy yourself but be careful to eat well, continue to exercise, get quality sleep and moderate alcohol use.
Be Generous: The true meaning of the season is to be generous. Think of others during the Holidays.
With appropriate planning we may not be able to eliminate the stress in our lives caused by the holidays but we can reduce the impact of stress and create a memorable holiday season.
Stress management is not just for the holidays. Set a goal to live a less stressful life in 2010. Before implementing your 2010 Stress Management Program, consider the following:
Personal Inventory: Take a personal inventory and look for the sources of stress. Is your stress coming from your Job, Family, Environment or Your Personal Life Style?
Personal Stress Response: How do
you respond to stress? During stressful times do you experience stress Physically (i.e. backache), Emotionally (i.e. feel sad), Cognitively (i.e. think bad things about yourself) or Behaviorally (i.e. eat or drink alcohol more)? Understanding your personal response to stress will help you recognize when you are under stress!
Remember the Three A’s: Alter, Avoid or Accept your situation. Try to alter your situation. For example when you have a difficult task to complete, ask for help from a friend. Try to avoid some unpleasant tasks. Sometimes we have to be assertive and say no to things we do not have the time to do. Try to accept certain situations. Sometimes we get upset over little things that we just have to accept.
Change your health habits. Eat healthier, less processed foods. Stay away from high fat, greasy fast foods. Remember, healthy foods increase energy, fast foods reduce energy. Avoid excessive alcohol use.
Exercise more. Aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, dancing and swimming) for thirty minutes a day approximately four times a week increases our ability to resist stress. Work out with weights. When we strengthen our muscles, we look better and feel better. Remember it is important to stretch before we exercise and do not forget to consult your primary care physician if you have not recently exercised.
Make it a point to relax. Practice relaxation, meditation, yoga or self- hypnosis. We have spent our lives learning how to be tense, so spend a little time learning to relax.
Mini stress breaks. Several times a day stop what you are doing; take a deep breath and think of a relaxing scene. For example visualize a relaxing beach scene or a relaxing mountain vista. Also think positive thoughts about yourself. We have to create positive affirmations to counter a potentially stressful or negative situation.
Develop a hobby. Do something that you always wanted to do. Join a book group, take a course, learn how to use the internet etc.
Have fun. Plan at least one fun thing each week. Learn to balance work and play.
Socialize More. Call or email new friends and old friends. Plan to get together with friends and family on a regular basis.
Plan ahead. If you have a major change coming in the future, plan ahead. Make sure you balance work and relaxation and ask for support or help from friends, family members or co-workers.
Remember The Three S’s.
Stress, Solution and Strategy. While we need to employ a short term
Solution to any
Stressful situation, we need a long term
Strategy to actually solve the problem.
