Although the Christmas season is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, many people instead suffer exceedingly from stress and even serious depression. In an effort to help Kaua`ians prone to the seasonal blues, Borders and Music in
Although the Christmas season is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, many people instead suffer exceedingly from stress and even serious depression.
In an effort to help Kaua`ians prone to the seasonal blues, Borders and Music in Lihu`e is hosting a talk and booksigning by Brian Luke Seaward tomorrow.
According to Mary Daubert, in charge of promotions for Borders, Seaward has taught thousands of university students in Illinois, Maryland and Colorado. He also has shared the insights of meditation with the White House staff and taught relaxation techniques to Olympic athletes, Broadway actors and media personalities.
Seaward is also the author of three books – “Managing Stress,” “Stressed is Desserts Spelled Backward” and “Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water: Reflections on Stress and Human Spirituality.” Seaward, a pioneer in the stress-reduction field, has been joined in recent years by medical helpers with advice on how to de-stress Christmas and New Year’s.
“The anticipation of the holiday season begins with Christmas decorations going up around Halloween. It’s no wonder that people who expect to have the perfect holiday are set up for feeling stressed out,” said Dorothy Cantor, former president of the American Psychological Association.
Cantor said another way folks add to their holiday troubles is by being unrealistic. They somehow believe the Christmas season will smooth over rough areas in their personal lives.
“If you have bad feelings about someone, try and avoid them and not make an issue of it, but don’t pretend that all is well,” Cantor said.
Such inner honesty, according to the experts, reduces stress.
Living within your means is another smart way to avoid holiday stressors.
On Kaua`i, where many people are working two jobs to make their mortgage payments, the mercantile nature of modern Christmas can add to the financial tension.
“Knowing your spending limit is also a way to relieve holiday stress. People believe that they have to go out and buy all these gifts regardless of their financial ability,” Cantor said. “Not only is it stressful to feel you have to buy everyone an expensive gift, but you’ll be stressed for the rest of the year trying to pay off your bills.” Dateline NBC and Prevention magazine recently conducted a poll of 1,010 randomly selected adults to quantify where the holiday season fits on the list of stressors that cause people problems.
Forty-one percent of those polled admitted they find the holiday season stressful. That’s compared to only 36 percent who found interviewing for a new job stressful.
But Christmas couldn’t hold a candle to dentistry or the police. Fifty-one percent of those polled said going to the dentist was stressful, and 65 percent said they can’t get a speeding ticket without experiencing stress.
Vigorous exercise is known as a great stress-fighter, and massage is also a known stress-reducer.
Experts say that if you need some professional counseling to deal with your own personal bugaboos, you may call 1-800-964-2000 to be referred to the Hawaiian state psychological association.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and dwilken@pulitzer.net.
