HEALTH & FITNESS SERIES

Holiday Stress

HSF1-08

This will be the first post,  HFS1-08, of my Health & Fitness Series for Back to a Nutshell.  In this inaugural post, why not choose a topic fitting for the holiday season: stress. Think "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" when Clark looses his cool: click here for the YouTube version (caution, explicit language).  

As you surf the web, you might come across numerous articles or news segments on stress during the holidays.  Take, for example, this article from MSN, Best Ways to Beat the Holiday Stress.  The article discusses the triggers of stress (family obligations, relationship dynamics), warning signs of stress (over eating or irritability), and how to deal with the stress.  The methods of dealing with the stress are always the best part of the article. The methods almost always require you to be a zen Buddhist. But I guess the methods are suggested because they likely work.  For instance, if stuck in traffic, one suggested strategy is to pull over, breathe deeply, reflect on the source of anxiety and choose a response instead of a reaction. Imagine having to pull over in the middle of holiday traffic! Another suggestion is to talk with family members weeks in advance about what's important to you during your upcoming celebration. Yet another suggestion was to keep things simple by establishing what's workable.  

I should be taking note of these methods.  My wife, Sarah, and I will be flying Christmas Eve morning to her home town of Cincinnati and we're bringing our bladder-challenged Yorkie puppy, Izze.  It's tough enough getting yourself through airport security and getting situated in your seat. Add a puppy the mix and who knows how it'll work out.  Moreover, my wife heard we might have a weather event Christmas Eve morning.  Strangely, there always seems to be a weather event when we travel to Cincinnati. And these events almost always lead to severe delays or cancelled flights causing us to scramble through the airport trying to find a place to say for another night.  Again, add a puppy to the mix and who knows what 6 hours delayed in the airport will do to my stress levels. (I'll let you know after Christmas.)

I generally think exercise is a great way to deal with stress.  During the holidays, however, it's hard to keep schedules. Thus, it really does come down how you can emotionally and mentally deal with the situation. I'll just have to accept the situation and realize there isn't much that can be done about delayed and cancelled flights.  Oh, and there isn't much that can be done about a puppy that has to go to the bathroom. It'll happen no matter what.  

Thus, I'll emphasize to myself that it's all for the holidays and family and that I'm certain it will make for a good post!