Keep the Stress to a Minimum This Holiday Season

If you have visited any big box store in the recent weeks, one fact is glaringly obvious: The holidays are here. As happy and joyful as the holidays are meant to be, they are also stressful and, for some, full of anxiety. We tend to overstretch ourselves during the holidays and quite easily overdue it. If you don’t reign it in, you not only deal with stress, but you put yourself in danger of causing or being involved in an accident.

Pay Attention to the Weather

No matter how many invitations you accept, let the weather dictate how many parties you will attend. If the driving conditions are hazardous, kindly give your regards and stay home. Do not feel guilty about not being able to attend a get together, and do not feel so pressured that you take chances on roads that are better left untraveled.

Wait Until the Holidays are Over

Do you have to spend Thanksgiving with your extended family? Of course not. Some experts suggest thinking outside the box and postpone some celebrations for after the frenzy of the holiday season. You can turn any night into Thanksgiving. You can travel to visit family after your own celebrations are over. When you celebrate before or after major holidays, you are less stressed and less hurried.

Food and Drink

Who hasn’t had to undo a notch on their belt after a festive holiday meal? It is easy to overindulge during the holiday season on food and alcohol. If you know that you will be attending a celebration where alcohol will be served, limit yourself to one drink. The holidays see more intoxicated drivers than any other time of year. Keep your wits about you and remember that you have an obligation to drive safely. If you partake in a bit too much spiked eggnog, call a cab or spend the night on your host’s couch.

Give Your Time

One of the biggest stressers of the holiday season is money. We spend too much and when we run out of cash, we charge it. Come January, many of us experience post-holiday blues in the form of piles of bills and an empty bank account. Instead of putting yourself under that kind of stress, consider giving your time instead of tangible gifts this year. Offer to take your grandmother out one Saturday each month, or visit your uncle every other Sunday and clean his house. Take your brother’s new baby every Friday night and give him and his bride time to themselves. There are so many things you can do that will be far more beneficial than yet another sweater.

Don’t stress yourself out this holiday season. Emotional driving is distracted driving. Hurried driving can lead to accidents, and drunk driving is never a smart decision. You can get through the holidays safely by being proactive and using a bit of common sense.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, our personal injury attorneys are here for you today. Call our offices now for a free case evaluation. We want to help you and your family put the pieces of your your lives back together. Call now.