The Holiday Season is Here! Are You Ready for the Stress?

We all know how stressful the holiday season is. The pressures of out-of-town visitors, travel, crowded shopping centers, and cooking fancy dishes that we only make once a year compound to frazzle everyone’s nerves. And that’s not even counting the everyday stresses of work, paying bills, and attempting to avoid the cold and other bugs that tend to go around at this time of year. Stress can cause all manner of problems, including sleep problems, headaches, a decreased sex drive, irritability, and depression. Additionally, stress contributes to longer-lasting health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

Fortunately, there are ways to deal with stress. Several sources suggest yoga, exercise, and meditation, and we have plenty of books on those topics, far too many to list here. To find books on those topics, search for yoga in the St. Louis Public Library catalog. We’ve also got several books on stress management, particularly around the holidays. Here’s just a sample:

• Christmas Sucks: What to do When Fruitcake, Family, and Finding the Perfect Gift Makes You Miserable by Joanne Kimes
• I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas: A Holiday Survival Guide by April Nunn Coker
• I Saw Mommy Kicking Santa Claus: The Ultimate Holiday Survival Guide by Ann Hodgman
• Holiday Blues: Rediscovering the Art of Celebration by Herbert Rappaport
• Stress Management for Dummies by Allen Elkin
• The Smart Guide to Managing Stress by Bryan Robinson
• The Everything Guide to Stress Management: Step-by-step Advice for Eliminating Stress and Living a Happy, Healthy Life by Melissa Roberts

If you don’t have time to read a whole book (and, let’s be honest, trying to find time to read a book on stress management may defeat the point), here are some websites to check out:

• Tips for dealing with stress from the American Heart Association
• Relaxation techniques for stress management from Helpguide.org
• Survival tactics for dealing with holiday stress from the Mayo Clinic
• Tips for coping with stress and depression during the holiday season from the Mayo Clinic
• A handy list of reasons why and ways to say "no" to new responsibilities from the Mayo Clinic
• For those whose spouse is currently deployed with the military, check out this blog post focused on managing holiday stress while your spouse is away

Happy Holidays!