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Holiday Stress


10 years ago 0 6252 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
I'm rather amendable. Last year sunny put out lights in the yard and we had a real tree. But this year I'm not interested. If I was I would find a way to do it. If my friend with the little boy was here I would do it for sure. But just for me. No I think not. She sent me pictures of their tree, she will send pictures of the presents. I did send a present to England. To a friend.

I am going to have a cornish hen and pumpkin pie but that is about the extent of it. I have made the traditional cookies and tarts and I will make the steamed pudding. 

People forget that some of the traditional things were done to use foods before they went bad not as an excuse to be pigs. 
Later they could go back to living on oatmeal. Only the very rich could eat well all winter. 
Well now we can over eat anytime we want and anything we want we just put on visa so where is the spirit. Well it is still in the heart.

Davit
10 years ago 0 2508 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
For starters leaving the past in the past so that I be present in the moment and enjoy it and then progress in a positive  way into the future....
10 years ago 0 4027 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
I dug up this thread from last year.
 
What are people doing to combat stress?  I'm going for walks to break up the monotony of daily chores
11 years ago 0 6252 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
We forget the first Christmas in all the commercialism. The Magi gave what they did because they could but the shepherds had only their faith to give. Both received a gift they can never equal.

There is no proper way to celebrate. So no one is wrong. If it feels right do it. For us we know we will enjoy the holiday too much so we cutback for a month before. No change really just less. It is still the same healthy food and we do actually lose weight. Sort of like lent. The only thing we miss is the glass of wine with supper. I wouldn't call this a diet. Just less of the foods known to put on the pounds. 

I don't like to shop, I used to push myself before I got so crippled it has become a chore. It is good that Sunny likes to shop or it would be a skimpy Christmas. For me I have always been happy with just the lights and music. Years ago when I lived in a cabin on the north shore of Lake Athabasca there was not even that. No lights on my tree. Still there was turkey and pie and a bottle of wine. My one bottle for the year. I hope no one feels sorry for me, those were some of the best I had. No pressure. If I remembered batteries for the radio there was music till they went dead.

Besides what can you give that they can't get with Visa.  Love only!

Davit.
11 years ago 0 4027 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Sunny,
If you patented your before-the-feast-diet-and-blow-the-weight-gain-away-at-no-expense, you might be able write a book!
11 years ago 0 1665 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
HI:  I'm just the opposite of you Hugs.  I eat all the goodies!  I figure it's once a year and I am going to enjoy it.  lol     I love my favourite cookies and candies/chocolates and spices we use at Christmas time.  I'll tell you what I did do though before Christmas.  Last month I started a sort of diet knowing I'd be eating lots extras during the season.  I lost 4.5 lbs.  I usually drink wine with dinner (not always, but often enough) and quit that for about a month and hardly any desserts and bread.  I know what puts weight on for me and that is bread/ carbs.  If I stick to veggies and meat without the bread, I do great.  No snacking during the day and after dinner and drink lots of water.  If I feel really hungry during the day I'll have some plain yogurt.  

I guess my answer to the question what do I do to ease the stress is:  enjoy the moment, enjoy the good things the season has to offer.  I don't have to do them all, just the ones I want. 

 Some people don't like the rushing around at Christmas in the stores/mall.  I just love it!  You could write a story about so many things/people you see. Sitting and having a hot chocolate or coffee and watching the crowds go by can be fun. (Okay, gotta say I'm not too happy if I see babies and toddlers crying 'cause their tired out, etc.  It would be easier for the parents if they could get a sitter).  I love to see the decorations, I like hearing "Merry Christmas" greetings, etc.   Yes there is commercialism and consumerism but it's all up to us.  Buy as much as you wish, or don't, it's totally up to you.  When I was younger I used to feel more pressure about buying but not anymore.  Older and wiser as the saying goes.  But also I think nowadays we've been better educated about the consumerism aspect of Christmas and know better. When young my mother received her gifts on New Year's Day because Christmas was a holy, spiritual day.  I think it's important to remember that we give because we want to share the joy and love with someone, not because we have to.  
Well, my two cents,
Sunny 


11 years ago 0 4027 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
 
I try to exercise, eat well as opposed to taking in the seasonal favourites with sugars & carbs and get as much done as possible away from the crowds. I hope rohit didn’t mind that i set my background with his relaxing picture from his avatar. 
Maybe that’s the message – find something a make an avatar for us to share, either mentally or on the website(I’m still a little embarrassed by the buns I made, which are more like little stones). I suppose I could look for this in everything!

There’s always something anticlimactic about the whole time of the year, since its so commercial, and like a lot of others, I’m on a different wavelength, with a different calendar, spiritually. Eg. East Indians celebrated a festival of lights last month, and there are all these different cultures on different timetables. This may be something which challenges us, since there could conceivably be a workplace of people who can’t relate, because no-one knows what the other is celebrating!

As for the Mayan calendar, there must be a lot of disappointed people coming out of bunkers, in lineups trying to return cans of stuff for Christmas shopping due to the cancellation of the end of the world

11 years ago 0 11213 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
During the holiday season, stress levels can reach peak levels leading to many reactions within our body, including increased anxiety and fatigue. Your body’s physical and emotional reactions to stress are determined by your sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The SNS produces the fight or flight reaction in response to stress leading to an increased heart rate, muscle tension, increased blood flow and respiration. If you are constantly being exposed to stressful situations (ie. the holiday season) this may cause your SNS to overreact and be constantly stimulated. This constant stimulation can lead to depleted energy reserves and emotional and physical exhaustion. It’s important that during times of high stress we learn how to manage stress levels.

Members, what are some of the ways that you manage your stress levels during the holiday season?
 
Ashley, Health Educator

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