Holiday Stress?

Holiday Stress- a 2023 survey conducted by the American Psychological Association revealed that 89% of US adults experience stress during the holidays and 41% report feeling more anxious than during any other times of the year. This can be attributed to several factors:

-Added financial and time pressures.

-Healthy habits of eating and exercise often get waylaid this time of year. Also, decreased sunlight exposure can have a negative effect on mood. 

-Loneliness, especially if you experienced a recent loss. Or having to be around people you are not particularly fond of during social gatherings. 

-Personal expectations that don't match the wider view that states we should all be blissfully happy.

Lets look a little further at that last one; expectations. A function of the subconscious mind is to act as a 'predictive machine' that anticipates how we are going to respond in a given situation based on past experience. This is one of the most important principles in applied hypnosis. Simply put, the subconscious mind creates shortcuts as an efficiency move. But sometimes these shortcuts are faulty. A dramatic example: a deeply hypnotized person who is allergic to flowers may sneeze and have their eyes water when presented with a realistic looking fake rose. Unconsciously the image triggers memories of past allergic responses and the body reacts accordingly.

Similarly, if you have a lot of negative emotional baggage associated with the holidays, the sights and sounds of the season can revivify negative emotional states such as anxiety and sadness.  Your subconscious mind is just doing its job based on previous conditioning.

A potential remedy? Being mindful when you feel the stress ramping up, taking a relaxing breath and asking yourself, "am I responding to this present moment or reacting to past experience or negative future projections?" Usually in the present moment, as long as you are breathing you are actually OK.  

P.S If you could use some help with your stress level, I am here to help! Call/text me at (732) 714-7040 or fill out the Life Enhancement Strategy Form and I will get back to you ASAP.