KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If you are stressed about the holiday, you are not alone.
Everything from gift-giving, to traveling, to deciding which family members to see can really begin to add up and cause stress, but there are ways you can get a grip on anxiety and shift the tide of overwhelming emotions.
Denise Scott, a licensed social worker in Knoxville said it’s important to go easy on yourself.
“We cannot be all things to all people and be everywhere at one time,” Scott said. “You have to come into that acknowledgement. It's tough to be human, and you're not going to please everybody - you can't be everything to everyone.”
Scott adds that sometime there simply is not enough time in the day to accomplish what you need to get done, and sometimes – that’s okay.
“There's only so many hours in the day,” Scott said. “But when you start behaving contrary to your values, that's when (anxiety) becomes a problem. That's when you need to kind of take a pause and figure out what's going on.”
The first great way of identifying your anxiety triggers is through journaling. If you take time every day to record how you’re feeling at certain points and write down what you were doing at the time to make you feel that way, it can give you the information you need to focus on relaxing before your stress becomes anxiety.
You can also talk with a trusted friend or confidant. Having someone listen to you, validate your feelings, and show true concern goes a long way.
Physical exercise is also helpful. It can help you clear out any pent up energy and channel anxious feelings to improve your health.
Practicing mindfulness or meditating can also immediately improve your mood and daily outlook.
“The whole point of mindfulness is to be in the moment,” Scott said. “People who struggle with anxiety are either mentally in the past worried about what already happened, or they're mentally worried about what will happen in the future… but they rarely are in the exact moment, and that's the trick to mindfulness is to say, ‘okay, nothing bad is happening right now.’”
Ways to practice mindfulness include stretching, 10 to 15 minute breathing sessions, and exercising your five senses by identifying things you can see, smell, taste, feel, and hear.
Therapy is also a very helpful option for reducing stress and anxiety.
Remember – a therapist’s role is to help us help ourselves by making sense of our own feelings and provide us the tools to be the happiest and healthiest versions of ourselves.
If you want to find a therapist in your area, go to psychologytoday.com and enter your zip code.
You will then be able to scroll through a list of therapists based on your needs and phone numbers to contact them. Therapists can also be sorted based on your insurance coverage.