The holiday season is back, and for a lot of us that means heightened emotions, increased expectations, financial stress and usually a few additional, unwanted pounds! Sound familiar?

Being with family that we don’t see a lot during the year can be difficult. Family can bring drama and heightened emotions, the source of much stress, as do changes in the family tree. Divorce, death, marriage, and birth are all events that initiate change and bring about stress. Whose turn is it to go where? Who's coming this time? Who's bringing what?

The additional expectations of the season always create stress. One definition of stress is the “gap between the way things are and the way we want things to be.” We have expectations that the holidays must be the, “most wonderful time of the year,” and we may not feel like we're having much fun.

The holidays are expensive. Gifts, travel, decorating, and entertaining all cost money. This is the issue that keeps on giving since we get to figure out how to pay for it all when those credit card bills show up in January.

People love holiday food, but holiday foods aren’t especially healthy. Too much food, too much alcohol, less time to exercise, and less time to sleep all make it hard to stay healthy during December.

If this sounds like you and you struggle to get through this time of year, you're not alone. The good news is there are ways to cope, manage, and deal with it all so you can enjoy the season without too much stress or financial hardship and the folks will wonder how you make it all look so easy!

Why not give us a call, or go ahead and schedule some time with us right now, and let's talk about it and outline some real tactics you can utilize to make the holidays a time you look forward to.