We all experience pressure of one sort or another in the modern world and there are many pressures that are unique to the holiday season.



For example, we often travel during the holiday season and, in many places, the weather makes this more difficult often more physically uncomfortable. This might seem like a minor problem, but when it persists year after year it can become an element in encouraging stress.

Both the desire and the expectation of buying presents, often for people who you are not very fond of but who you feel obligated to buy for, can add to the pressure of the holidays. This is particularly true if you are on a tight budget. Heavy traffic, crowded stores, long queues and a lack of parking spaces all contribute to the problem.

All of these factors bear marked similarities to more commonly seen factors in producing stress. At work for example you often face deadlines that are difficult to meet and a have a lack of resources to meet them. Physical factors, such as health problems, also commonly constitute a large percentage of stressors and money worries are near the head of the list for many people who experience stress.

Not surprisingly, since the factors seen around the holidays are similar, they are subject to the same kind of 'treatment'. Stress arises out of a perceived, insoluble conflict between "I must" and "I can't". So, tackle these two factors head on during the holidays.

Start by asking yourself if you really 'must'. Do you really need to buy everyone a present? In many families today a kind of raffle system operates in which one family member buys for another. This way, no one is burdened by buying multiple presents and fewer obligations to meet mean a lower chance for stress. Also, having to spend less money also means that you have less to worry about.

Now that's one way to tackle the "I can't" part of the stress equation, but what about "I can't"?

Some people 'get into the spirit' early and start gift buying and decorating well ahead of the holiday while others find it difficult to 'drum up enthusiasm' until the last minute. If you fall into the latter category then how about shopping online or going to more out of the way places? The trip may take a little longer, or require a little more searching, but avoiding the congestion of the town center and lowering the incidence of stress might well more than compensate for this.

Even if you don't feel like starting your shopping for the Christmas holidays in August, you can still do some planning that will help to lower stress. For example, if your budget is small, then start saving well ahead and put a ceiling on what you are willing to spend. Also, don't allow unnecessary guilt to make you spend more or to feel bad about spending less. At the end of the day, gifts are supposed to be voluntary and not obligatory.

The holidays can present quite a challenge when they give you more to do and often make it more difficult for you to get it done. But this challenge will only result in stress if you give yourself impossible dilemmas. Throw those dilemmas on one side and declare your independence from stress during the holiday season.