YAB’s Tips on Dealing with Stress Around the Holidays

The holiday season (i.e. Thanksgiving to New Year’s) is often a mix of excitement and stress. This year might be a little heavy on the stress side. Let’s be honest, winter break from school might not be quite the same since so many have been at home for school all year anyway. So, how are other teens and young adults dealing with holiday stress this year? We asked our Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and here’s what they said.

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1. “To deal with stress around the holidays, I love to listen to holiday music. It helps me relax and get into the holiday spirit! Also, I love to bake holiday treats – it’s very therapeutic and rewarding.”

-Sammie

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2. “Making lists always helps me. Adding easy stuff to them as well helps so it feels like you’re getting stuff done.”

-Mikayla

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3. “I usually find one of these to be helpful. Read a book. Go for a walk or bike ride. Call a friend.”

-Bridget

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4. “Get good sleep. It’s really easy to slip into a weird sleep schedule during a holiday break, but our bodies need consistent, normal sleeping habits to keep us happy and healthy. If you go to bed or wake up too late, you might feel on-edge the morning after.”

-Asha

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5. “My piece of advice is to take a short nap. If you take a short nap, not only do you have more energy, but your family won’t disturb you as you sleep.”

-Abby

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6. “I like to cook to deal with stress around the holidays.”

-Maia

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7. “Comedy videos and music helps me manage stress. Exercise sometimes helps as well.”

-Katrice

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8. “Two things that help me deal with stress: listening to uplifting and positive or engaging music (particularly my Desi (Indian) music playlist); 2. daily prayer and/or personal meditations that allow me to ground myself in the present moment and to calm my mind and spirit.”

-Maddie