Life Christmas stress can show up in surprising ways you don’t notice – With these two exercises you can relieve stress right away

Of the year best time. Presence and calm. Good food and close people.

There are many positive images and expectations associated with Christmas. At the same time, however, it is perhaps the most stressful time of the year for many.

This is known to a psychologist and a psychotherapist Tarja Nummelin. Nummelin is familiar with stress management, for example, in his book published in 2020 Manage stress through.

“There are a lot of traditions, memories, expectations and disappointments associated with Christmas,” says Nummelin.

Stress can be caused by things related to Christmas, such as getting gifts and cooking, as well as the idea of ​​what Christmas should be like. At the same time, a changing corona situation can cause additional stress about what is allowed to be done at Christmas.

“Christmas time is glazed with good-sense stamps, and negative feelings can be hard to talk about. It feels like it is a disgrace to something sacred, ”Nummelin says.

“On the other hand, Christmas is a stop where the relationship with oneself and other people is inevitably assessed. Do I have people I care about and am I important to someone? ”

Stress the most typical symptoms can occur physically, mentally, and socially. One is not allowed to fall asleep, the other is fierce and tense, the other has a constantly elevated heart rate or a sore stomach.

Stress is part of basic human biology. In the face of danger, the body triggers an alarm system that tunes the body into a fight or flight state. In this condition, the body secretes the stress hormone and the sympathetic nervous system is activated.

According to Nummelin, in addition to the physical threat, a threat in one’s own imagination is enough to activate the alarm system.

However, temporary stress does not hurt anything, but a more harmful one is a constant state of overload.

“Stress is awkward in the sense that modern man is no longer in the same danger as before. For example, the threats to today’s people can be caused by threats to social relationships: think about whether they are fit and fit, ”says Nummelin.

“

It is good emotional regulation to be able to choose when to react and when not.

“Social media, for its part, increases the amount of stress. One should be reacting to something all the time, and we have not been created for it, ”he adds.

It is good emotional regulation to be able to choose when to react and when not. However, for a stressed person, this does not always work, but there is a feeling that one should be reacting to something all the time.

“Stress affects the ability to plan and keep a cold head. If a person is not stressed, he or she is likely to be more relaxed. Then it is easier to think about what time is enough and what is not, ”says Nummelin.

“There is no such flexibility in a stressed person, but they go through the gray stone.”

Stress can appear in human behavior in different ways. Some retreat, others sniff. You don’t get excited or interested in anything.

On the other hand, the stressed can also be latent aggressive and excessively negative.

“Then nothing is right, and there may be a certain kind of martyrdom that if I don’t then no one will. On the other hand, there may be silent school or skipping, ”Nummelin describes.

For example, Christmas can remind many people of nasty emotional memories that appear outwardly as negativity.

“Complaining and a negative mood can tell that there are accumulated nasty feelings in the background.”

Own stress can be difficult to identify because if you go overboard for a long time, your body will get used to it.

“It doesn’t necessarily recognize that there is something special going on. In that case, it would be important for those close to you to say something about it and urge you to think about the situation in more detail, ”says Nummelin.

“A stressed person is tired, but at the same time hurts forward like a high-speed train and may not notice it himself.”

“

You can calm your body for just a few minutes with the breathing exercises you will find at the end of this story.

It is also good to stop to listen to your own life. According to Nummelin, stress is recognized by feeling bad in one way or another. Feeling of weight in the chest, constriction of the throat, sore throat, rupture of the joints, excessive sweating, palpitations, and shortness of breath can all make you feel overwhelmed.

Stress levels Fortunately, calculating often doesn’t require much. You can calm your body with just a few minutes of breathing exercises.

“In stress management, it would be important to learn to recognize your own feelings and anchor yourself in the moment,” says Nummelin.

The best way to relax is unique to everyone. In addition to breathing exercises, things like moving, saunaing, writing, listening to music, or painting can help reduce laps.

A person needs recovery every single day, says Nummelin. The way you relax doesn’t matter in the end, as long as it works for yourself. The only exception is drugs. For example, alcohol impairs sleep quality and slows the body’s recovery from stress.

The basis for recovery is a good night’s sleep, a varied diet and adequate exercise.

Nummelin emphasizes the importance of night sleep in particular.

“Sleep is the starting point for stress relief. During sleep, the brain’s energy stores are replenished, and if you don’t get enough sleep, it takes longer to recover. ”

“In the end, pretty little things can make you relax. It is easily forgotten in this world of performance. It feels like a waste of time if there is no performance switch all the time, ”says Nummelin.

Read more: Some people’s constant rush is a product of the imagination, says Psychotherapist – These are the things you should ask yourself in a hurry.