The song may tell us “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” but for many people this can be the most stressful time of the year. Not only are we juggling our regular work and home lives, but throw in all the shopping, parties, family gatherings and travel, and it’s enough to turn the best of us into a Grinch.
Turning Point: The Center for Hope and Healing at The University of Kansas Hospital, offers many suggestions for dealing with stress, especially during the holiday season. In an 11-minute video, Noreen Thompson, a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist at The University of Kansas Hospital, explains what stress is, when it’s most likely to occur, what it does to us and why it’s dangerous to let it build up. She also explains these four tips for dealing with stress:
1. Slow down your breathing — use an app called “Breathe to Relax”
2. Be mindful — take time to appreciate the beauty of nature and our surroundings
3. Listen to relaxing music
4. At the end of the day, recall three things that went really well that day.

The video also includes shots of Moira Mulhern, executive director and co-founder of Turning Point, teaching a class on how to cope with stress.

Source: The University of Kansas Health System: Medical News Network
See the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-trOJrks_bI