A UNLV Expert Offers Advice on How to Manage Christmas Stress

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (702 Times, NV Globe) – The holidays have here, and although for some this means happy sentiments with family, it may also represent worry or discomfort for others.

UNLV consulted an expert to identify some strategies and practices that people might employ to manage Christmas stress.

Anne Weisman, director of well-being and integrative medicine at UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine and faculty member at the worldwide Center for Mind-Body Medicine, offers some advice.

“Wellness as a concept has lived at a superficial level for so long, but COVID really dropped it into our laps in a big way,” she said. “We’re now focused more than ever on what wellness really means, and what we’re doing to facilitate it.”

Weisman shared these five techniques:

Just Breathe — Soft breathing calms the nervous system and naturally brings our bodies out of the “fight or flight” response that stress can bring.
Shake it Off — Active meditation is so much fun, and it’s especially effective if you’re feeling rundown or overwhelmed.
Focus on the Moment — Come into the present moment, feel the world around you. Life only happens one moment at a time. Mindfulness means bringing our full attention or awareness to something.
Grab Some Crayons — What many people discover with this simple and fun activity is that they’ve found their own way through their issues, and they’ve done so in a gentle and exploratory way.
Talk to Your Problem — Imagine your stressor as an embodied thing, and have a dialogue with it.

Weisman also provided an extra tip: divide and conquer. She suggests that you utilize physical signals to remind yourself to employ procedures.

Credits: News3LV