I know; it’s hard to believe, but here we are again. The holiday season is upon us. It often brings with it many different emotions and memories, including the “phenomenon of holiday stress.”  Understanding this seasonal malady is essential to dealing with it, which is an important step in warding off any unhealthy physiological manifestations it can otherwise cause.

Childhood memories may bubble up joyful feelings from a simpler time, one when you were carefree and just looked forward to being out of school and with family and friends, and of course, those much-anticipated Christmas or Hanukkah gifts.

Meanwhile, you may also have sad memories wherein you witnessed parental worry and stress, and, even worse, saw their stress manifest in the form of verbal or physical abuse targeted at themselves or other family members.

When you feel the events of a bygone era surfacing, it can trigger a strong desire to recreate the happiness of a blissful childhood amidst heavy limitations such as finances that make it impossible to meet the demands we place on ourselves this season. Whatever the reason, the stress that manifests as a result of this can be overwhelming.

A STATISTICAL MYTH

I want to share a piece of news that likely runs counter to what you’ve been told about one of the worst outcomes of out-of-control stress. There is a long-held belief that suicide rates increase at this time of the year. The good news is that they DO NOT. I want you to incorporate that into your memory banks. I repeat, suicide rates DO NOT increase this time of year.

In a decades-long study of this suggested suicide phenomenon, Dan Romer, research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania states that the “mistaken belief that the suicide rate increases over the holiday season” is perpetrated by the news media. Now, whether this false reporting is due to ignorance or a desire to stir the pot during this season, the media and most of the public (including myself before I studied the research) believe the myth that there is a rise in suicide rate rises during the holidays. In fact, the spike occurs mainly in the spring season, for reasons I will not get into here.

Romer goes on to state, “The persistence of this myth suggests that its hold on the public’s imagination is difficult to undo. Supporting the myth serves no useful purpose and may have a contiguous effect on vulnerable people who are experiencing a crisis and contemplating suicide during the holidays.” So please, spread the word that this myth is not the case and, in fact, is a statistical lie. So, let’s put that falsehood to rest once and for all!

TYPES OF STRESS

Regardless, we need to acknowledge that the season of joy can cause unhappy emotions. According to the American Psychiatric Association “28% of Americans say they are experiencing more stress related to the holiday season than they did last year, but the causes of their stress vary.”

• 46% stressed over affording holiday gifts,
• 47% felt the weight of grieving over the loss of a loved one,
• 35% worried about dealing with challenging family dynamics.

However, as I noted above, there are many who experience positive emotions related to the holidays. According to this same study:

• 41% said they looked forward to seeing family and friends,

(Remember, from my “Gratitude” article from last month there are only two things that are important in life, and this 41% of this study’s sampling get that fact.)

• 24% were “foodies” who looked forward to eating good food,
• 8% were looking forward to taking time off,
• 8% were happy to give and receive gifts.

So, you can see that we have an interesting spread between those experiencing “distress,” and those experiencing “eustress.” Those of you who have joined us for our Crave Clinic understand that distress is exactly what the term depicts: a “bad” stressor. Eustress, meanwhile, is what we would call “good” stress. Either way, these are forms of stress.

Distress causes adverse health effects through the release of specific hormonal signals. These hormonal signals in turn cause numerous physiologic alterations in sleep patterns, cardiovascular function, nervous system, digestive system, and will even cause other changes in blood chemistry such as increased cholesterol levels.

On the other hand, eustress, or good stress, causes the release of positive hormones such as dopamine, which in turn have equally positive effects on the physiology. The effects of eustress include an increase in our respiratory rate and heart rate for example. These changes enhance our brain function and prepare us to take on tasks. We often feel energized when these positive stressors occur. These changes also enhance our ability to interact with others in a positive fashion.

Many of us will experience eustress as we prepare for the holidays and the greeting of family and friends that we haven’t seen perhaps in a year or more. We want to experience the exhilaration of good stressors. In fact, they enhance our overall level of health and wellness. Therefore, we almost crave this form of stress.

But what do we do about the bad stress that we may experience not only at this time of year, but throughout the year? That is the big question.

Well, hang in there, because there are many techniques you can employ to shake off the negative impact of bad stressors in your life.

MANAGING DISTRESS

You can start by remembering that stress goes hand-in-hand with worry. Worry, as I say in the stress module of our Crave Clinic, is like sitting in a rocking chair, rocking away to your heart’s content. It expends a lot of energy, but it gets you nowhere!

The three main concepts for managing stress (and worry) include:

1.) Deep breathing techniques

There are many strategies to improve the way we breathe. Dr. Weil’s famous 4-7-8 techique is just one example. The point is that we need to make a conscious effort to deepen this involuntary life-supporting movement, because taking time to focus and control breath can have a profound influence on our emotional and physical response to stress.  

2.) Maintaining physical activity

As far as physical activity goes, weight training and aerobic exercise are certainly important if you can tolerate this form of exercise. However, yoga, stretching, and Tai Chi, and other low-impact movements are also excellent forms of stress-relieving exercise.

3.) Consuming a “healthy diet”

Now "healthy diet" is a very general statement, so let’s dig into this further.

Eating too much, or “emotional eating” as it is referred to, actually makes things worse. Equally, drowning your sorrows in alcohol significantly compounds the problem, since alcohol tends to enhance depression and create further stress. Instead, eating plenty of vegetables and some fruit is important in balancing your diet. Foods like avocados, chia seeds, almonds, and, yes, even dark chocolate help in quelling stress. However, don’t overdo it with the almonds and dark chocolate, especially if you are prone to kidney stones. That applies to spinach as well for those of you “stone growers” out there.

THERE IS MORE

Another stress reliever, one that I enjoy, is immersing yourself in nature. Some call this “forest bathing.” There is something that allows us to connect with God when we recognize the infinite beauty of what we have around us. This could just involve something as simple as watching the birds or squirrels out of your window on a snowy day. That is enough to connect you to the relaxing and stress-relieving beauty of nature.

Maintaining enough sleep is critical for stress relief. Creating proper sleep habits and an appropriate sleep environment is critical as well for good stress reduction. I have written about this in previous newsletters. I also have a full chapter in my book about creating a good sleep environment and preparing for sleep.

The use of nicotine and caffeine must be eliminated or at least reduced. Reducing the quantity and time of day that caffeine is consumed (morning only) can go a long way to improve sleep habits. And as far as smoking goes it needs to be STOPPED! Not just for this reason, but for our overall health and wellness.

What else can be done to reduce stress? We recently brought into the Center for Nutrition and Wellness a new technology called Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). The vagus nerve is also known as the 10th cranial nerve, one of 12 cranial nerves that exit directly from the skull. The vagus nerve is a critical component of the autonomic nervous system. It is the longest single nerve in the human body. It connects the brain directly to internal organs in the body including the heart, lungs, and the digestive system. It thereby regulates heart rate, respiration, and digestive motility and digestive function, all of which is done involuntarily, or without conscious thought as I discussed earlier in this article. For years, VNS units have been implanted in the chest cavity of patients with epilepsy to control seizures.

VNS has been demonstrated to boost brain plasticity and to support the elimination of fear memories. One recent study combined cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with VNS in twelve consecutive sessions with patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results were encouraging. After the sessions, none of the participants met the criteria for PTSD, which they had met prior to the initiation of the treatment. These benefits persisted 6 months later. Also, anxiety levels dropped in 66% of the participants, compared to the 89% that entered the study meeting the clinical criteria for anxiety.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

So, as you can see, stress and its physiological effects must be addressed all the time, not just during the holidays. Also, for those of you who recognize that they feel stressed no matter what time of year, remember this: we only have a relatively short time here on this planet. Don’t waste one minute of that time worrying or stressing over the things that we either have no control over or can’t change. Instead, enjoy your holidays and enjoy your life.

I know that the concepts that I have shared with you today will help you to live a much longer, and certainly a much healthier life!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Dr. Pfeiffer