No matter what holiday you celebrate . . . holidays can be a very stressful time of year. Joy and happiness can also be accompanied by sadness and anger. While it is good for us to have a full range of emotions, having balance can prevent us from becoming overwhelmed.

• Keep your holiday tasks manageable. You may not be able to attend every event or obligation. Running from thing to thing can detract from the things that are really important. Choose the ones that are most important and send kind regrets to the others.
• Keep realistic expectations. Most families are not of the Ozzie and Harriet sort; so resist the urge to compare your life to the lives of others. Movies lead us to believe that everyone lives charmed lives. In reality, people have all sorts of problems you may never know about.
• Be kind to each other. We all know how a bad comment can ruin our day, but we barely take notice of how a kind gesture or compliment can really make a person’s day. We have it in our power to make life a little easier for each other. No cost or special training is required.
• Practice gratitude. We may not have everything we want in life, but it is important not to take for granted the things that we do have. When it’s hard to find something, remember your body and the brand new day that greets us each morning.
• Sadness can be normal this time of year. If it lasts for more than a few weeks or persists after the holidays, treatment may be helpful. Feel free to call us for an appointment at Yurk Counseling Services LLC to see how we can help these symptoms improve.

Have a great holiday,