November 13, 14, 15: The days count down until the holiday season, leaving an overwhelming emotional wreck in their wake. Christmas is supposedly the “happiest season of all,” but is it really? 

For some, the holiday season is time spent with family, filled with happiness. However, so many see the holidays as an impending doom, one that is destined to bring stress, sadness, and dismay. Am I hosting the family gathering? Who am I buying gifts for? How much money am I spending? All these questions sum up to “holiday stress.”

 Holiday stress, by definition, is the pressures of holiday shopping, gift and travel expenses, the stress of hosting gatherings, or managing a packed calendar of holiday events. If you think you are alone in feeling excessively overwhelmed during the holidays, you are not. In a 2015 Healthline survey, 62 percent of respondents’ stress levels were described as “very or somewhat” elevated during the holidays. Yet, only ten percent said there was no induced stress during the season. Also, many ages tend to experience this type of stress. From students to adults, the case of holiday stress does not discriminate. 

For students, the holiday season means loads of exams and assignments crammed into the small amount of time before Christmas break. The constant flow of new assignments and tests leaves barely any time for teens to hang out with friends or family and enjoy the Christmas spirit. Stress becomes the forefront of a teenager’s brain during the holidays, whether that be from assignments or gift shopping. And, in a haste to finish assignments, information is barely retained. Yet, for adults holiday stress can stem from managing work and time spent with family, or hosting a party. The way we experience this stress may be different, but we each wish for it to go away.

So, how do we prevent/help holiday stress? The simple answer is to plan. Plan ahead, plan your spending, or plan gatherings. Learning how to plan your time can be a hard task, but there are a few simple tips to help. The best tip is to get a planner; one of the best ways to manage time is by writing things down. As well, focus on yourself and your well-being, it is important to not get caught up in expenses or assignments and enjoy the Christmas spirit!