Manage
Holiday
Stress
By Andrea Nagel
Everyone feels
a little added
stress around the holidays. Whether
it is the financial burden associated
with the season of giving or time
constraints when dealing with
travel and fitting in visits with
family, the holidays can be very
complicated. Luckily, several
experts at Kootenai Health offered
suggestions for both coping with
and preventing stress this holiday
season.
K E E P I T S I M P L E ,
K E E P I T R E A L
“Some people are more resistant
to fluctuating stress levels and
can slide right through,” said
Char Harris, N.P., of Kootenai
Clinic’s Behavioral Health Ser-
vices. “However some people are
more vulnerable and may struggle
through times of stress.”
Char said there are several ways
to prepare for the holidays and
reduce the amount of stressors to
which we are exposed. She believes
D O N ’ T
F A C E I T
A L O N E
Need help managing
stress? Call Kootenai
Clinic’s Psychiatry
Services at
(208)
625-4888
or visit
kootenaiclinic.org
for
more information.
Char Harris, N.P.
F I N D I N G A H E A L T H Y B A L A N C E
D U R I N G T H E H O L I D A Y S E A S O N
the key is to start planning earlier
in the year and keep your celebra-
tions and gift-giving simple.
One way to reduce stress ap-
proaching the holiday season is to
change your perspective.
“We live in a society where
holidays are more about meeting
expectations or continuing tradi-
tions, and that can be hard,” Char
said. “Most households require two
full-time incomes, and it may not
be realistic to expect one person
to do all the meal preparation and
hosting.”
Char’s suggestion: Instead, have
the host prepare maybe one dish
and ask that everyone else pitch in
with the other sides. If there is not
a simple solution to family gather-
ings, Char suggests changing the
tradition and simplifying the way
you celebrate.
For example, if gift-giving is
the cause of stress, it may not be
reasonable to ask that everyone
purchase gifts or open them all at
the same time.
“Some members of a family may
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SEASONAL HEALTH
