5 Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Here is a list of ways you can reduce the amount of stress you feel around the holidays.

1. Be thankful for what you do have.
   During the holidays it is easy to get caught up in the I need and the I want mentality.  Do you really need the newest gadget?  If you don't get it, will you be super disappointed?  Focus on what you do have and realize that so many people in the world don't have that.  Be thankful, you will feel better.
   
2. Ask for help.
   You don't have to do everything yourself.  Ask for help from your friends and family.  Work together if you can and spend time together.
   
3. Laugh.
   Have you heard of laugh therapy?  How about fake it till you make it?  That is the idea here.  Even if you don't feel like laughing, just start laughing.  Eventually, that laugh will become a real one.  Laughing triggers the body to release endorphins and you will start feeling better.  Laughter really is the best medicine!
   
4. Take time for yourself.
   Many people, especially during the holidays, take care of so many other people that they forget to take time for yourself.  Don't be that person.  Make sure to schedule a little 'me' time. 
   
5. Say no.
   Did you overload your next month with way too many activities?  Did you sign up to volunteer and realize you can't possibly meet your obligation and have time to sleep too?  It is okay to say no to some activities, and yes to others.  You don't have to say yes to everything that comes your way.
   

Still feeling overwhelmed? Come in for some relaxation and make your next massage appointment today.

I'm too busy to relax

Busy-ness is the trend these days. People carry over-packed schedules like winning trophies. “I’m SO busy at work!” “How do you have time to do that? I’m too busy to read/watch TV/exercise/do anything fun.” “I can’t get monthly massages I have too much to DO!”

Too much “busy” could be making you tired, sick, and probably cranky.

When do you relax? RELAX. “Relaxation” is a word we hear often, but don’t know always know what it means. Here, I’ve compiled some options for you.

re·lax  verb \ri-ˈlaks\

1: the state of being free from tension or anxiety.

2: a way to rest and enjoy yourself

3: recreation or rest, especially after a period of work.

4: the loss of tension in a part of the body, especially in a muscle when it ceases to contract.

5: something that you do to stop feeling nervous, worried, etc.

More importantly, what does relaxation mean to you?

If you’re not a “hot bath and good book” kind of person, you probably cringe at Calgon commercials and spa photos of people with stones piled on their backs. But here’s the beauty: You can make your own definition of relaxation.

It’s your job to figure out what you enjoy doing, what makes you smile, and what makes you feel like you are a hundred miles from work or home jobs?

Then, make time for that.

You have a schedule. Write in special time for a hobby, a nap, massage, your favorite show, a weekend getaway, a new class, ANY thing you enjoy can be relaxing.

Need someone to give you a reason? Want permission?

August 15 is National Day of Relaxation. Yes, it’s a thing! And it’s just begging for celebration. Here are some ideas:

• Spend part of the day alone.
• Spend part of the day with your family, doing ONLY fun stuff.
• Meditate
• Devote time to your hobby.
• Sleep in. Or get up extra early. Whichever excites you!
• Arrange for take-out or pre-cooked meals all day.
• Schedule a massage!
• If you’ve always wanted a day to “not leave the house” today’s the day! Wake when you wish, eat when you’re hungry, stay in your jammies and read a book.

Taking care of you is important. And, self-care puts you in a better frame of mind to take care of the people who depend on you. So find the thing that mellows you out, and make it happen!

Are stressed out babies more likely to get sick?

There is a new book called: Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease.  Here is a description of the book found on Amazon:

The first years of human life are more important than we ever realized. In Scared Sick, Robin Karr-Morse connects psychology, neurobiology, endocrinology, immunology, and genetics to demonstrate how chronic fear in infancy and early childhood— when we are most helpless—lies at the root of common diseases in adulthood.

Compassionate and based on the latest research, Scared Sick will unveil a major public health crisis. Highlighting case studies and cutting-edge scientific findings, Karr- Morse shows how our innate fight-or-flight system can injure us if overworked in the early stages of life. Persistent stress can trigger diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression, and addiction later on.

This is very interesting to me, and I look forward to someday soon reading this book. I found out about it from reading this article on modern mom.

As a massage therapist, I am always looking at how stress affects the body, but this is a look at how stress early on in life has lasting affects into adulthood.  Now a little bit of stress is good for you, but constant stress, without giving your body a bit of relief, is horrible for your body, mentally, physically, emotionally harmful. I teach classes to families, couples, and parents about giving massage to each other, and I explain some of the benefits during the class.  So if you know me, you know the affects of stress, short term and long term on your body.  It is interesting to see how stress from a pregnant mom-to-be affects her unborn child, and stress on a newborn or toddler affects them later in life as well.

As a mom, I read up on research that is done on how stress affects our children. I share that research here in this blog, as well as on Melrose Muscle Therapy's facebook page. So you know there are ways that you can handle stress at home, such as taking a long bath, reading (if you like to read), giving your self a time out..and on and on.  One of the best ways to break up chronic stress is with regular massage visits. 

Book your appointment online, and we can talk about different ways you can take care of yourself, as well as your children.

I constantly get headaches. What can I do?

There are many types of headaches, and depending on what the reason is for your headache, massage may be just what the doctor ordered to ease the pain you feel. Here are the two most common types of headaches.

Tension Headaches

High levels of stress, worry, anger can trigger the onset of a tension headache.

Migraines

It has been in the news lately that women suffer more often from migraine pain than do men. Researchers are saying that the reasoning has to do with genetics and how our sex determines certain parts of brain structure. Regardless of who gets them more, migraines are a pain in the...well, a pain in the head. Migraines share many of the same triggers as tension headaches, but last much longer, and are much more intense. They also are one sided, so the pain is only felt on either the right or left side of your head.

If I get headaches often, what can I do?

First thing you should do is start a headache diary. Write down when you get your headache, and how long they last. Write down your activities, what you ate, what emotions you were going through before the onset of your headache. This will help narrow down what your specific triggers are for your pain. Check this link to see a sample diary you can use.

Once you notice a pattern develop, it will be easier to keep your headaches at bay. If you notice that one of the triggers for your headaches is stress related, or due to muscle tension (tight neck, TMJ, or any other tight muscles), then frequent massage will help. Your massage therapist should do a full assessment to help you make some small changes to your daily routine. Anything from the way you are sleeping, to how you sit at work could be causing muscle tension in your neck. Your therapist can give you some ways to help you deal with unusual amounts of stress when you are not getting a massage.

Stress and Disease

So many problems are related to being overly stressed. Here are quite a few of them:

Loss of sleep

Can't concentrate

Can't seem to remember much

Always tired

Constantly suffering from pain

Anxiety

Depression

Stroke

Heart Disease

Change in your weight

Heart Attack

Headaches

Alzheimer's

Diabetes

Asthma

So what can you do if you are suffering from any of these, or prevent you from getting any of these? How can you change your stress levels to a much lower manageable state?

Figure out what is causing you to stress. What can you do to relieve some of those stressful agents? Just taking a few moments to yourself to clear your mind can help. Turn off every distraction for a moment. Focus on your breathing so that you can't think of anything else. If you can't find a place to be free of distractions, then get a massage. Even a short 30 minutes can help you de-stress so that you can get back to solving any problems that are in front of you.

Quick Ways to Relieve Stress

We all have had those days where we were so stressed out that we couldn't think straight. We couldn't concentrate on anything. It was just not possible to be productive at work or at home. We became easily aggravated, and we felt like we were just mad at the world. These are the short term affects of dealing with a lot of negative stress.

Photo courtesy of ABMP.

Quick Ways to Relieve Stress:

Take a moment to laugh, even if you have to force one out. Did you know that if you start laughing on purpose, eventually that laugh will become a real laugh.

Give yourself a timeout. Close your eyes, picture yourself surrounded by your favorite things, or picture yourself surrounded by nothing at all. Take a few deep breaths, and concentrate on your inhale and exhale.

Act like a kid. Put on your favorite show when you were a kid. Odds are it had some music in it that you can still sing along to. Pretend like no one is watching and sing and dance along, just like when you were a kid.

Spend some quality time with some animals. Petting your dog or cat has a very relaxing effect, even if only for a few minutes. Seeing their unconditional love for you helps you to feel happier, decreasing the stress hormone cortisol, and increasing oxytocin.

Clean up! Being surrounded by a messy area can be very distracting and nerve wrecking. So take some time to clean a bit of it up, whether it is a drawer, a closet, or your workspace.