We’re nearing holiday season and one of the biggest requests we get from people is for strategies to have a stress-free and conflict-free break. You’ve worked hard all year and we agree you deserve a mental break during your time off!

Imagine it’s the holidays and your family is all coming around. You’ve been frantically trying to finish that big work project before you go on leave, you’ve battled the crowded shops to put food on the table, you’ve sustained 7 paper cuts while wrapping gifts and just as you sit down to dinner, your mother says, “Your sister always puts on the best family dinners” and you get ready to snap! But wait! First ask yourself…

“Is this effective?”

This one simple question can help you shortcut a lot of stress and conflict this year. If the answer is yes, then go right ahead. If the answer is no, then take 5 deep breaths and try to focus on something else until you can relax again.

Maybe you’ve just spent the last two hours trying to make a perfect dessert and the icing has been rubbed off by glad wrap. You now want to spend another 30 mins perfecting the icing layer. Is this effective? If you’re about to present your dessert to the Masterchef audition judges then that extra 30 minutes is effective, but if not, it would be more effective to serve an imperfect dessert and spend your extra time relaxing.

If you have a family member that often makes judgemental comments to you. Ask yourself, is this effective to address today? If you’re sober and feel you can communicate assertively, then let your family member know that you aren’t finding their comments helpful. However, if you have had a few drinks, feel that you would likely be aggressive rather than assertive, then your family member is likely not going to hear your message anyway. Instead take 5 deep breaths, decide when (and if) it would be effective to let them know how you feel another time, and then distract yourself until you can relax again.

We’d love to hear from you if you’ve successfully used this strategy, or have other useful holiday stress busters. And remember, if you’re struggling with low mood, anxiety, alcohol, or other concerns and don’t feel that you’re making enough progress alone, don’t hesitate to give us a call today at our Sydney psychology clinic to speak to our friendly team about how one of our psychologists can help you to live with increased ease. Foresight Psychology Ultimo: 02 8380 8855 / info@foresightpsychology.com