How To Deal With Holiday Stress

Sometimes we forget that the holiday season can be a very stressful one for many people. Having to deal with excess bills or perhaps even obnoxious family members may put a lot of individuals on edge. Today, the Toronto Sun reports that there a lot of different ways to cope with both clients and co-workers who may be experiencing the type of frustrations that may negatively affect their moods.

Denis Grignon and Cinnamon Tousignant of the Canadian Mental Health Association offer a number of tips to cope with these tension-filled types. According to Grignon, stress is a healthy response to a situation that requires a response that doesn’t have to be negative. Unhealthy ways to respond to stress, he warns, include ignoring it, blaming others or becoming aggressive, unhappy or angry.

Often workers experience stress on the job. Especially during this year’s recession, employees may fear the potential loss of their jobs. Employers can certainly do their part to quell these fears by clearly articulating “roles, responsibilities, authority and deadlines,” says Grignon.

Keep in mind that everyone has different personalities. Do your part to listen and understand where a complaint or concern is coming from. Expressing empathy can go a long way. Consider that people have lives outside of their jobs that may potentially affect them in the workplace. Be sure to get as much information as possible about each individual situation to make a fair assessment before you respond.

Both Tousignant and Grignon offer up a list of solutions to deal with stress. It includes establishing specific, measurable and achievable goals, writing down short and long-term goals, dividing these goals into “chunks” so that they can be worked on bit by bit and of course, setting priorities.

Following these steps, of course, will help alleviate your own stress as well. When you are thinking with a clear and focused mind, you also will be better suited to handle the stress of others in the appropriate way.
Taking time to focus on fitness and nutrition will also help you to be at your physical and mental best to deal with stress, say Tousignant and Grignon. Believe it or not, there are also physical ways to avoid getting yourself stressed out during this time of year. One suggestion is actually to try squeezing and releasing your hand when a customer or co-worker starts getting on your nerves!

This practice, in fact, will help to calm you down and allow you to handle the situation effectively. Making time for yourself is also key. Read, meditate or take a walk, if necessary, to give yourself some moments to relax.

Remember that your reactions are the only things that you truly have complete control over. Sometimes difficult behavior requires difficult decision making. Make good decisions and you’ll not only have a great holiday but a great future as a business owner.