Imagine a large dining room table full of food, family, and maybe an animal or two trying to locate the best time to attack the turkey that is sitting way too close to the edge. One would think that this scenario is what most people will experience this Thanksgiving. However, what about the single people?
Seasonal Affective Disorder
For some, the changing of the leaves and cooler temperature spark joy, for others it means shorter days, less sunlight and the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Unlike holiday blues, which many people experience during this time of year due to added stress of the season, SAD is a recurrent clinical depression linked to person’s predisposed biology. The exact cause has not been determined, but many studies suggest a correlation with reduced sunlight exposure. This is found to interfere with the body’s biological clock, which regulates mood, sleep, and hormones. Recent research, is also associating low vitamin D levels as a factor in those diagnosed.
Thriving During the Holiday Season with a Mood Disorder
Stress has become synonymous with the holiday season. For those with a diagnosed mood disorder, the holiday season can be a time of increased mood shifts. Stress whether good or bad can cause a change. Being prepared is the best way to control the shifts so that you are not spending the New Year trying to come back from mania or depression.
How Vacations Positively Affect Your Mental Health
Vacations help to alleviate stress. When someone is under chronic stress, it begins to take a toll his or her physical and mental health. Taking a vacation has the ability to break the cycle of chronic stress.
5 Ways to Rebuild and Maintain Trust With Your Valentine
Because trust is a cornerstone element, it’s important to evaluate and know where you stand with your partner with regard to trust and to intentionally work to strengthen trust.
New Year’s Resolution: Two Steps Forward or One Step Back?
January is almost half over. How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? If you’re like most people, you’re probably feeling like you took two steps forward and one step back. You decided to make positive changes in the New Year and within a few days or even hours, you slip up and revert to your old way of doing things.
The Most Important New Year’s Resolution
Eat better, work less, make more money, lose that dreaded 15 pounds you just gained, run a 5k, travel to somewhere exotic… Most of us find it pretty easy to fill up several pages with ideas of things we want to do differently in the next year. What matters most to you though? Of all the things you fill up your list with, what will be the most significant?
Maintaining Family Traditions With Your College Student
Maintaining and growing new family traditions with children who are entering college can be a challenging situation for any family. College students are in the process of building their own lives and schedules and may not be able to as fully participate in family traditions as they have in the past.
Give Intangible Gifts for the Holidays
The holidays are the perfect time of the year for advertisers to target and attract us, the consumers, to spend lots of money buying “tangible” gifts—gifts that have a physical presence and can be touched. Many of these tangible gifts consist of expensive electronics, clothing, appliances, jewelry, and even cars. These are nice gifts to give and receive. But “intangible” gifts—gifts that have no physical presence and can’t be touched—can truly change the quality of your life and can be the best gifts you can ever give and receive.
Surviving the Holidays: Less is More
Our culture seems to be all about more, bigger, better… especially when it comes to the holidays. Gift wish lists are longer and more expensive. Pinterest sets a high bar when it comes to decorations. Holiday parties can fill your social calendar before you know it.
Here are a few tips for a simpler, less-stressed holiday season.
