Dynamic Self-Help

No matter where you are in your life, congratulate yourself for being a unique individual.

You can make changes in your life that matter. But be wary of compromise. Consider all the downstream effects.

When you control stress and calm your mind, it opens the door to creativity.

Remember - the journey is where growth occurs. And the journey happens within yourself as much as any other type of journey.

Talk to a good friend when you are feeling down during the holiday season. Support is so important to getting through a stressful moment or period of time.

Some tips for how to keep your cool at times of stress...

Take a Step Back

If you can afford to step back from the moment, do it. Unless it’s an emergency that needs to be attended to right away, you can always take a figurative step back, take a big deep breath and view things as objectively as possible.

An arms-length view can provide a clearer perspective, and taking a breather has proven to be really effective in letting people make better decisions. When in doubt, take a pause when you can. It usually helps greatly.

Reframe the Situation

The way we see things and frame events in our lives can be a great source of stress. That is why stress can be very subjective. What might stress some people out easily could be fairly normal to you, or what could easily stress you out is quite normal to most others.

How you perceive an event has a much bigger impact on your stress than the situation itself, and this is the essence of effective stress management. Reframing stressful situations by seeing things in a different light usually gives us the freedom and power to choose our own mindful response. This can provide an instant sense of calmness, helping you to avoid stress from taking over your life.

Cope with Some Humor

Try to see if the stressful situation can get some help from humor or a joke. It’s not appropriate all the time, but there are instances when being humorous can completely turn tense moments around. Having a sense of humor helps people easily cope with stress and bring peace and calmness to their minds. In fact, the people around you can equally benefit from this. Share a laugh or two and see how instantly stress dissipates.

Get Some Sleep

Lack of sleep will certainly make people more stressed than they already are. Getting sufficient sleep will underpin your efforts to keep your sense of balance and manage your stress...

Get Support

You don’t have to go at it all by yourself. When stress eats up your peace of mind, getting another perspective usually helps. In fact, confiding in someone you trust can very easily provide a sense of relief and calm. Also, some catharsis could immediately unburden you of the extra load you're carrying.

The next time you find yourself amidst a highly tense and stressful situation, turn to a friend you can confide in. Having moral and emotional support in times of need can help calm your racing mind.

Meditate

It’s almost as if there’s nothing meditation can’t do. Meditation helps you in many ways when you are dealing with chronic stress. So many people give up at the thought of meditation, especially if they are doing it for the very first time. It is a practice that grows much easier with practice, to the point it can be almost automatic. To start making meditation work effectively in your life, you simply need to do it. Try meditation and see how it can effectively help you reduce and manage your stress.

Turn to A Positive Distraction

Not all distractions are created equal. There are positive distractions, and in times of stress, these are things that we can turn to for healthy coping. Do something that instantly lights you up and make you forget the tense situation that’s right in front of you. Make sure your distraction is not something that will cause more problems. Don’t let your stress become an excuse for poor choices.

Using comfort food or drugs or alcohol to dull your feelings isn’t a solution. Even ‘good’ choices aren’t so good if they become addictive to a point where they negatively affect other areas of your life. If your distractions are keeping you from doing what needs to be done, it will compound your problems and your stress.

Getting enough sleep can make a big difference in lowering your stress level as well as boosting your resistance to catching viruses from the common cold, flu, and COVID-19.

Here are some foods that can help alleviate your stress. Of course, if you are allergic or intolerant of any of these, avoid them. But here are the basics:

1. Green Leafy Vegetables. Leafy greens contain a lot of magnesium. Magnesium is an important mineral that has the power to relax muscles.

2. Fish Oil. Fish oil contains essential fatty acids that help with serotonin uptake in the brain. Serotonin makes you feel good mentally and enables your brain to better cope with stress. You can get your fish oil from certain kinds of fish, such as salmon, or from supplements.

3. Milk. There is a reason that milk is sometimes referred to as a "wind down" food. The proteins in milk can help reduce anxiety while the calcium is another mineral that can help with muscle relaxation.

4. Chocolate. A small piece of dark chocolate each day can actually provide you with many health benefits. Chocolate has a stimulating effect. The caffeine-like ingredient theobromine also helps to increase serotonin. It's okay to indulge in dark chocolate in small amounts!

5. Red Wine. Many experts believe that a glass of red wine each day provides health benefits. The only drawback is that it's easy to overdo it when drinking alcoholic beverages. Wine is packed with beneficial antioxidants and can temporarily lower blood pressure and help you relax. Can't tolerate alcohol? No problem. Check out what the natural supplement resveratrol might be able to do for you, after you consult your own health care providers about what's best for you.

6. Oatmeal. Oatmeal and other carbohydrates also help increase serotonin levels in the brain. In fact, your brain needs carbohydrates in order to function normally. This is why it's essential to include good carbohydrates like oatmeal in your regular diet.

7. Lean Meats. Lean meats can help you combat stress by providing a good source of protein. Turkey, eggs, chicken and fish are all good choices because they contain necessary amino acids for healthy brain function. Remember not to eat fatty meats because the fat can interfere with proper digestion of the amino acids.

8. Coffee. Yes, caffeine is a stimulant and there is also a risk of developing an unhealthy habit. However, moderation is the key. Coffee can help stimulate the brain into working with more energy and efficiency, helping you feel more motivated and less stressed. But if you are prone to anxiety, avoiding caffeine is really best.

9. Nuts. Nuts help you maintain your proper blood sugar. They also contain plenty of the vitamin B complex, which combats fatigue and magnesium, which reduces anxiety and muscle tension.

10. Spinach. Spinach is one of the world's super foods. It contains many vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3's. This means it would be hard to eat spinach and not feel good!

How do you cope with holiday stress? It is possible to handle it even though most of us experience at least some challenges at this time of year. What types of issues do you face during the holidays?

Ask yourself some important questions - do you believe in yourself? How do you cope when stress shows up? Are there coping methods that you use but know that they aren't beneficial for you? - Drinking, Drugs, Emotional Eating?

Problems come and go, but you can find ways to solve them.