To Make Your Christmas Merry

With Christmas around the corner, today's blog will feature how you may get the most merriment out of the holiday. So grab your hot chocolate, a cozy blanket, and and be prepared to discover the secret to the season.

According to Hirschman and LaBarbera (1989), there are about 7 main holiday activities which people engage in:

1. Spending time with family

2. Participating in religious activities

3. Maintaining traditions (like decorating a Christmas tree)

4. Buying gifts for others

5. Receiving gifts from others

6. Helping others/Doing service

7. Enjoying physical sensations like good food

So which of these activities will bring greater happiness and less stress to your season? Let's take a look at a study done by Kasser and Sheldon (2002), where they surveyed 117 people to find out more about what effect holiday activities have on subjective well-being. Here are some of the results to the 7 main Christmas activities:

1. Experiences with family were associated with decreased stress, decreased negative emotions, and increase in overall well-being
2. Participating in religious activities were associated with increased satisfaction, decreased negative emotions, and increased overall well-being

3. Maintaining traditions had no effect on the surveyed measures
4. Buying gifts for others was associated with increased stress, increased negative emotion and decreased overall well-being
5. Receiving gifts was associated with decreased satisfaction, decreased positive emotions, increased negative emotions, and decreased overall well-being
6. Helping others/doing service had no effect on the surveyed measures (the authors postulate that this could partly be due to the feeling of service being socially pressured instead of freely given for which there is typically an increased in positive emotions)
7. Enjoying physical sensations was associated with decreased stress

So there you have it folks, according to Kasser and Sheldon, if you want to have a more merry Christmas leave behind the materialism of the season and focus instead on family and having religious experiences.

To quote from Dr. Seuss, "Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Have a wonderful Christmas and remember to keep your focus on the things that matter :)

Spirituality and stress relief

Spirituality is a vital component of life for many of the students we meet with at Stress Management and Biofeedback Services. Spirituality may help us gain a sense of purpose and lessen unimportant distractions. It can help us feel more connected to others which can increase our sense of inner peace. Spirituality can come in many forms, including prayer, meditation, worship services, and making connections with other people. Some people may find it helpful to talk to their spiritual leader or keep a journal. Spirituality is also nurtured when you develop and build relationships with others. Increasing your spirituality in this way can help you to help decrease your perceived stress and increase your positive physical and psychological responses to stress. Ask yourself today "What can I do to increase my spirituality?"