Christmas stress and pain

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy.  A time for family.  I time for love.



But if we were to be honest with ourselves Christmas has now become more stressful than it used to be.  Gone is the simple Christmas.  Now we overdo, over buy, over bake...it's just over the top.

There are so many reasons why Christmas is so stressful.  Some we do to ourselves and others we have no control of.

Here are some ways to reduce stress this Christmas:

1. If you can't afford to buy it...don't:  Too many times we talk ourselves into buying "things" to put under the Christmas tree.  If money is tight set a budget and stick to it.  Draw names and have a limit on the price.  In our family, for the adults, we set a limit of $25.00.  I know this seems not very much BUT what it does do is keep the spending down AND makes the shopper have to think about the gift.  We have found we now give more meaningful gifts that took time to shop for.
2. Hosting Christmas dinner is very stressful.  We worry about making it perfect and we worry about the cost.  If you are hosting Christmas dinner this year think about a potluck.  Provide the turkey (or main course) and have others bring the rest.  This will cut the cost of the dinner down and allow everyone to participate so the stress of cooking everything is taken off you.
3. Who goes where and when.  I know in my family (all sides..because when you are married and your siblings are married there are many sides to a holiday).  Sometimes the stress of when, where and who is too much.  If this is the case in your family have an all day celebration so everyone can come and go when their schedule allows.  Christmas is on Tuesday this year so the weekend before would be a great time to allow all families to participate in your holiday celebration.  

Now let's look at stress that comes from "outside our control."

Pain.  I want to talk about pain over the holidays as there have been a few Christmas celebrations that I have been in pain and it made even the shortest of celebrations difficult.  I am fortunate to have a very understanding family that made it easier but for the person in pain it is difficult.

There is nothing more stressful for a person in pain than to participate in multiple holiday celebrations.  It doesn't matter how the pain happened it is there.  It never leaves.  There is nothing harder than to be "cheery" while you are in pain.  If you or someone you love has constant pain please be understanding and limit the celebration for them.  

• If traveling causes more pain...have it at your house.
• If the person in pain has to always be doing something....celebrate at someone another home so they don't feel like they have to make sure everything is perfect.
• Keep celebrations short.  The longer a person in pain has to "entertain" others the harder it becomes for them.
• Recognize the signs that the pain has gotten to extreme and excuse yourself.

Pain leads to stress and discomfort which will turn a happy celebration into a negative time.  Some who are in pain withdraw and some get angry...both can lead to an uncomfortable situation for everyone.  

Make the holiday special by knowing what can be done to eliminate the stress.  If you are in pain there are ways to reduce or eliminate your pain.  Please see your Doctor and ask for a referral to a specialist that can work WITH you and come up with a treatment for your pain.

If you are in Colorado I highly recommend Colorado Car Wreck | The Auto Injury Clinic no matter how your received your injuries.




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