(Dr. Davidicus Wong/ Vancouver Courier) — Though children greet the holidays with gleeful anticipation, many grownups default to dread and loathing. It can be the unhealthiest and unhappiest time of the year, but it doesn’t have to be.
In this series of columns, I’ll share practical tips to care for ourselves during the holidays — to maintain health in the face of the temptations of big meals, treats and alcohol — and manage the challenges of our relationships and mixed emotions in an often bittersweet time of the year.
Today, let’s prepare ourselves for the stress of the season. December can be jam-packed with parties, dinners and school concerts, long waits in lineups and parking lots, and endless spending.
Two keys to managing stress are acceptance and choice.
There are some aspects in our lives that we can’t change (our age and stage of life, our relatives). We just have to accept them. The alternative is to complain about them and that just makes us feel worse. (…)