The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is supposed to be a time of great joy. It’s not always that way.
Holidays can be stressful for a variety of reasons, and Beacon for Hope Suicide Prevention Director Melissa Owen — KVOE’s Talk of Emporia guest on Friday — says stressors can start developing early in the holiday period.
Owen says self-care really needs to start before the holidays. Part of that involves developing good habits, but part of that also involves a good level of self-knowledge.
With the number of holiday gatherings the next few weeks, regardless of work or family settings, Owen says basic civility may be as good as people can expect, depending on the circumstances.
Owen says a key issue for a lot of people is having “the perfect Christmas.” That expectation needs to be tamped down.
Owen also says the holidays can be stressful because of expectations and interactions, but January and February have their own level of stress because of the financial hit of the holidays. Owen urges people not to go into debt to meet the holiday expectations, a step Owen says can reduce general stress.
