Handling The Holidays

In the early 1990’s, I opened up a therapy practice one day a week in Newburyport, MA. A quintessential New England Whaling Town with lots of artists and aging hippies living there.

Come the holiday’s of my first year in practice in Newburyport, somehow I got connected to a reporter for the local paper who wanted to discuss strategies for handling the stress of the holidays.

I met with her in her office and we talked for about an hour. We discussed:

• the traditions of being with family and how many people are stressed out about seeing their families

• the loneliness that some experience if they are estranged from family

• the high rates of fighting on holiday days within families

• the amount of money the holidays cost and the stress of the pressure to SPEND and BUY

• the stress of the parties, the stress of the travel, the stress of it all!

It’s 2022 and nothing has changed. NOTHING. If anything, this season is shaping up to be even more stress filled. With the cost of everything, the difficulties with traveling, the lingering effects of COVID coupled with a terrible flu season, the division with people on social/political issues….

BREATHE IN….AND BREATHE OUT….AND BREATHE IN….AND BREATHE OUT….

What I shared in the early 1990’s applies to 2022:

• let go of what society says YOU SHOULD DO regarding holidays…ALL OF IT

• listen to what it is that YOU WANT TO DO regarding the holidays

• review your CHOICES of how you can handle the holidays

• make decisions about what you are GOING TO DO…the boundaries…the actions that you will take

Intro to Plan C is the way to quickly understand what’s happening for you during this holiday season and how you can handle it differently so that you are less stressed. Contact to discuss your questions. Or register here.