Title: December is National Stress-Free Family Holidays Month | Kennebec Behavioral Health
Headings: December is National Stress-Free Family Holidays Month
December is National Stress-Free Family Holidays Month
Do you know what causes your stress?
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Content: Parents may feel helpless and frustrated dealing with high expectations and not nearly as high budgets. People with big families may feel overwhelmed while those without families feel singled out and lonely. It is normal to be stressed during this time of the year but sometimes that stress can be unhealthy. Unhealthy stress can cause hyperventilation, sweating, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, body pains, headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, ulcers and behavioral symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, substance abuse and becoming socially withdrawn. For those who are already experiencing mental illnesses or substance abuse, this added stress can exacerbate symptoms. Do you know what causes your stress? Common causes related to the holiday season include travel, shopping (and the crowds associated with shopping), family, hosting, shorter days, being alone or money problems. People often strive too much for perfection and try to do too much to make this time of year perfect. Social media doesn’t help either. Too often, one will see others posting about their lives, highlighting the great parties they went too or the expensive gifts they received.