Running around to buy, wrap and prepare your gifts this season? Sure. It can be crazy and harrowing. Here are a bunch of tips to keep in mind to make you stay free of stress this season!
1. Keep only the important and the priority tasks on hand. Don’t add onto your list of to-do tasks when you know that you can do away with some tasks that can either wait or don’t need your attention.
2. Cut back on the gift list: don’t go over the top and run after gifts that you know will be too much on your mind and body to discharge. Limit highly prioritized and specific gifts to children, draw names, or organize a gift exchange.

3. Wrap as you go. Who needs to spend Christmas Eve catching up on wrapping gifts? Sticky notes will help you keep track of gift contents!

4. Cook in advance, and get the family to join you on cooking together so it feels lighter on your shoulders.

5. Send out e-greetings, or make a phone call, or send out WhatsApp greetings. They are easy, inexpensive and fun to send. 
6. Go simple on the décor, don’t go over the top! Cleaning up is your task, remember?

7. Keep parties to potluck or communal giving parties rather than take on the task of cooking everything by yourself.

8. Get the family to join you on cleaning up afterwards. Use paper plates or plates made of recycle-able and bio-degradable material.
9. Stay at home with family! Staying home and welcoming guests over, to working on projects together is a wonderful way to spend the holidays, just sitting back and enjoying yourself, all with the joy of the festive season.

References:
http://christmas.organizedhome.com/reality-check/ten-ideas-stress-free-holiday-season
http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/christmas/the-hectic-holiday-handbook

Everyone has periods of feeling anxious in their lives. This could be due to starting school, a new job, getting married or visiting the dentist. People can feel anxious during times of stress in their lives. This is normal and to be expected. Once the stressful event is over the anxious feelings disappear.

For some however, they find themselves incapacitated by anxiety even in the absence of any stressful life events. They feel as though they have no control over how their body is reacting and aren’t able to function in their day to day lives because of this. Let’s take a closer look at some of the symptoms of anxiety disorder.

1. Excessive Worry

People with generalized anxiety disorder tend to be afflicted with excessive worrying. Over everything and anything. They have trouble with racing thoughts to the extent these thoughts become more and more intense and feed upon each other.

They worry about little things and blow them out of proportion with a negative twist. They can’t stop worrying or slow their thoughts down. This causes more distress which in turn causes more worry. It’s a self-perpetuating disorder and can quickly become incapacitated, preventing the individual from functioning.

                                                 PC:footnotescounseling.com

2. Sleep Disturbance

People with anxiety disorder often complain of sleep disturbance. They have difficulty with racing thoughts to the extent these thoughts may prevent them from falling asleep or in extreme cases keep them up all night. Even if they are able to fall asleep, they may wake up several times during the night and experience nightmares or a restless sleep.

They are often physically exhausted. Sleep deprivation makes them more prone to physical illness, weakens the immune system and interferes in their mental acuity, which can be required for work and to problem-solve.

3. Panic Attacks

People experiencing extreme episodes of anxiety may also experience what is referred to as “panic attacks.” These can be terrifying episodes in which the individual may experience symptoms similar to those of a cardiac arrest.

Their heart and respiratory rates increases, they may have difficulty breathing and feel as though a heavy weight is on their chest and they may break out in a sweat. Medical tests will prove negative when individuals are in fact experiencing a panic attack.

4. Nausea and Vomiting

People with anxiety disorder may experience nausea and vomiting induced by an exaggerated stress reaction. This may be further exacerbated when they try to eat while feeling anxious.

During a stress reaction the body diverts oxygenated blood from the organs including the stomach to the major muscles in order for the body to be able to “fight or flee.” This is a primitive protective mechanism.

5.  Muscle Tension

People with anxiety disorder often experience near-constant muscle tension. This may include wringing hands, balling fists, clenching jaw, stiff neck, or a sore back. During the primitive stress reaction your body is priming itself to ward off danger by running away or physically fighting.

Hence the tightened muscles, ready for action. Relaxation techniques coupled with regular exercise can be effective to combat the tension arising from anxiety.

                                             P.C: biondisportstherapy

6. Flashbacks

Some people with anxiety will experience flashbacks of a past event which produced severe anxiety for them. In cases of extreme trauma another condition called Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may develop.

PTSD shares similarities to anxiety disorder however it is not the same condition. Researchers in 2006 published a study in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders which found PTSD-like flashbacks in people with social anxiety disorder.

                                                         P.C: thehansindia

7. Social Anxiety

Some people experience anxiety in social settings such as office parties or where large crowds gather such as amusement parks, shopping malls or grocery stores. This can be a particularly disabling form of anxiety as it can negatively impact important areas of a person’s life.

When these people find themselves thrust into social or crowded environments their stress response becomes so heightened that they may shut down emotionally and even experience panic attacks. Therapy may include anti-anxiety medication, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or desensitization therapy in which the person is gradually introduced to larger crowds or social settings for increasing periods of time.

                                                    P.C: m1psychology

8. Stage Fright

Fear of speaking or performing in public is said to be the biggest fear reported by adults. This fear is ranked higher than the fear of flying, bankruptcy, illness and death. Even seasoned actors or musicians may find themselves afflicted with this disorder. Others may pass up promotions at work or give up the opportunity to perform a eulogy at the funeral of a loved one.

Stage fright can be managed and overcome. Learning to use CBT strategies can be extremely effective in stopping the cycle of avoiding fearful situations. Medications and natural remedies also have their place. For the best results you may need to use a combination of all.

                                              assets.entrepreneur.com

Reference:

http://www.activebeat.com/your-health/women/8-common-symptoms-of-anxiety-disorder/4/

Featured Image: realnaturalhealth

By virtue of the nature of certain positions and activities, there can be a predisposition towards suffering depression and other mental health issues. One among these, is being stay-at-home housewives. This is not to mean that all stay-at-home housewives are depressed or are doomed to depression, but rather that it is more likely, especially if there is prolonged isolation or a state of stressed overwhelm due to the work load.

PC: www.theconversation.com

As it stands, stay-at-home housewives are involved in the rigorous demands of keeping a house. The chores begin with waking up on time to cook for the family, and then to clean up after everyone makes a move to attend to their own days and needs. They keep house, and oftentimes, remain alone for long hours – sometimes without any company, keeping to themselves, and sometimes, even left to their own defences to handle the many demands of a daily living. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, USA, globally, housewives are more prone to developing depression and mental health issues if they spend long hours alone and cooped up in the house.

PC:www.candysdailydandy.blogspot.com

In many situations, since housewives keep house and take care of the family, there is often a situation where these women tend to lose sight of their identities – the constant placement of others before the self tends to push these women into a state of oblivion and self-neglect, which can also function as among the more major causes for depression in housewives.

Signs and Symptoms

Depression in housewives can easily be gleaned from their behaviour. The following are some symptoms of depression in such situations:

• A sense of detachment and aloofness from everyone
• Inability to socially acclimatize
• Withdrawing and feeling suicidal
• Inability to perform daily routine activities such as cooking and cleaning or even running errands.
• In some instances, this can be aggravated or augmented by post-partum depression and isolation.

PC:www.thestar.com

Seeking Help

One of the biggest issues that challenge housewives who cope with depression is the fact that they seldom have anyone to talk to. It is often easy for them to be forgotten or neglected by their family members, perhaps out of the mistaken belief that they are safe and fine within their homes – when the truth is that they probably feel confined and isolated. There is also a tendency to shy away from speaking out because of the imposition and ascription of a stigma – in a social set up where the role of a housewife is often seen as significantly pivoting towards being docile and subservient, there is less room for women to speak out, or even seek to speak out and seek help.

Article courtesy: Seekspark

Feature image courtesy: www.thestar.com