How to Deal with Holiday Stress during COVID-19

It's holiday time. You're trying to juggle your work and personal life, with a whole lot of other things, not the least of which is a global pandemic.  Even if you are the most well-adjusted person on the planet, you simply wouldn't be human if you weren't stressing out about something right now.

Travel plans have been altered or canceled. Long-held family traditions may need to be put on hold or thrown out the window. If you're one of the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs, this holiday season could be more - "The Nightmare Before Christmas" than "It's a Wonderful Life!".

When seeking information on how to ease the stress of the holiday season during the age of COVID-19, I went to places like the Mayo Clinic, Indiana University Health Center, and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention).

There was a consensus among the three sources that this year it is vitally important to do what is best for your immediate household. Whether that means replacing the extended family and friends Christmas dinner with a virtual one or creating new traditions to accommodate the situation we're all living through.

Do whatever it takes to make it to the next Christmas season with your loved ones still able to be with you. Many people around the world don't have that choice anymore.

A few other suggestions:

1. Be realistic - That Norman Rockwell Christmas you were planning may need to be scaled back this year.
2. Acknowledge your feelings of isolation, and sadness.
3. Don't be afraid to ask for help. This is a courageous act all on its own.
4. Stick to a budget - Buying happiness is not the answer.
5. Learn to say no. If you need some alone time, some stay at home time, or some time to cool down when situations get tense, just walk away for a bit.
6. Try to get along with family members. Realizing that this can be an impossible goal to achieve- - refer to Number 5.
7. Try to keep up with your healthy habits. Harder said than done and for a lot of us, completely contrary to our comfort food and place cravings reaction to our current pandemic. So good luck with that one!

Sources: Mayo Clinic, Indiana University Health Center, and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)