The Blessing of Holiday Stress

Does holiday stress put a damper on your gratitude? Intentions to be grateful can become clouded by:

Strained Family Relations

Painful Childhood Memories Unearthed

Overwhelming Hosting Duties

Strained Finances

The expectations of the holidays can be triggers. Just when you think that, “This year will be peaceful and joyful.” something happens that causes your heart to pound, your face to flush and stress to fill your mind and body. Because the holidays are steeped in memory and tradition, they are very connected in your subconscious, as if there is a file drawer that says, “Stuff I Do Not Want to Think About” that only gets opened each year from the 4th Thursday in November through New Years.

Did you know that this is a blessing in disguise? The holidays can be an opportunity to discover what negative beliefs you are harboring, to learn which memories still lurk deep in your mind that affect how you feel. If you re-label your file from “Stuff I Do Not Want to Think About” to “Stuff I have the Opportunity to Change and Let Go” wondrous things can happen.

As you move through the holidays and you feel yourself begin to get stressed, just watch how you react and ask yourself this question:

What belief is this feeling a result of?

Think about the memories associated with the your feeling and let yourself be in the moment with the anger, pain and/or frustration. If you move into it then you can move through it. Once you know the beliefs and stories associated with your tension, use affirmations

to release your negative beliefs and instill new life and love affirming intentions. I think you will find that eventually, the holiday triggers that used to really get to you do not affect you in the same way. Gratitude will come through effortlessly.

Affirmations for Overcoming Holiday Stress

Return from The Blessing of Holiday Stress to Self Improvement Articles