Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Four self-care tips to manage holiday stress
Not every moment during this holiday season will be full of good tidings of comfort and joy. When stress and anxiety surface, it’s important to be mindful of your mental well-being.
Prepping to host family, buying presents, managing grief — it can be overwhelming.
But it’s more than that, according to Jennifer Peter, PysD, senior director for Creighton’s Student Counseling Services and The VIP Center. The weather’s getting colder. The days are getting shorter. Nature and biology are suggesting we embrace a sense of dormancy.
“I think it's a combination of everything,” Peter said. "There are hormones and other chemicals in our body that change during the winter with reduced sunlight and cold weather. This happens at the same time we may be putting all this pressure on ourselves to create the perfect holiday season. The most common thing we tend to attribute our stress to is the holidays, but there are more factors involved."
Creighton’s Student Counseling Services regularly shares self-care tools with students, especially at this time of year. A few tips this winter might very well be helpful to you.
1. Set realistic expectations
Society paints a perfect picture of what the holiday season is supposed to look like. And we do that, too. But it’s fine if reality turns out differently.
“It's OK if you're not overloading everybody with gifts. It's OK if there's a party going on that you just don't have the energy to go to. And it's OK to say, I can't do this today,” Peter said. “It’s being aware of how you're feeling, how much are you putting on yourself. Is everything totally necessary? It’s OK to let go of a couple of those things.”
2. Take time for yourself
One of the messages that Peter and her team pass along to students — especially first-year students — ahead of Christmas break: Prepare to set boundaries.
College students who’ve lived independently for the first time return home with different routines, and maybe different priorities. It’s helpful to communicate with parents and friends about that.
The advice applies to us all, Peter said.
“It’s important that you set boundaries for yourself and that you’re able to say ‘no’ to some things, so you can find balance,” Peter said. “So that you make sure to take the time that you need to take care of yourself too. That’s true across the board.”
3. Maintain your healthy habits
Maybe you do sleep in a little longer over Christmas break, or snack on some extra sweet treats, or sit on the couch longer to watch a few more movies or sports on the TV. That’s OK. But monitor yourself.
“If you feel sluggish and if you feel heavy and if you feel tired, to me, that's a little more significant than the couple pounds we might put on during Christmas,” Peter said. “Because yes, we also should enjoy those things. But it's the balance. I think a lot of it just comes down to the balance and checking in with ourselves to see how we feel physically or emotionally.”
A few suggestions:
- Talk a morning walk. If it’s too cold, try an indoor exercise routine. Peter’s experimenting with wall Pilates.
- Try a light box that imitates natural sunlight. “They seem to have a similar effect on our brains and our bodies as sunlight,” Peter said.
- Prioritize eating a healthy snack. Maybe eat one before your big holiday meal.
- Keep an eye on your screen time.
- Try to stay consistent with your sleep.
4. Talk to someone
It can be a professional counselor or therapist, if needed. But also, Peter said, it’s important to make a point to interact with friends and family. Even work colleagues.
Grab coffee. Get lunch. Maybe just a phone call.
“Being so busy, sometimes we lose track of the importance of just checking in on somebody or connecting in some way outside of the holiday ridiculousness and all the parties and gatherings,” Peter said. “So, make time to maintain those relationships, too. Just check in and say ‘hello.’”
