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Holiday Stress Prevention Tips

The holidays are right around the corner! And that means many of us will begin losing our minds, patience, and good cheer. Well, can you blame us? The holidays are one of the most stressful times of the year. Between shopping, decorating, and keeping your drunk aunt away from your recently widowed neighbor, it’s enough to pull your hair out!

If you tend to get a little stressed over the holidays, here are some tips to help you stay cool, calm, and collected.

Embrace Flaws

Nothing and no one is perfect. No matter how hard you try to have “the perfect holidays,” it’s simply not going to happen. Accept imperfections, embrace reality, and just focus on connecting with loved ones.

Be Kind

Most of the people you will come in contact with will be stressed out of their minds as well. And some people feel very sad and depressed around the holidays because of loss and other trauma. Since you can’t know what’s in other people’s hearts and minds, and you can’t control other people’s actions, focus on controlling your own and show kindness. You’ll be surprised how you can completely touch another’s heart and change their attitude with just a smile or thoughtful act.

Practice Self-Care

Often, when we feel stressed, our good habits go right out the window! Why eat healthy when you can shove holiday cake, cookies and pie into your mouth? But unhealthy foods, too much alcohol and not enough sleep will only exacerbate the situation. So be sure to treat yourself well and take care of your health during this time.

Speak with Someone

If you are having a hard time dealing with stress, it’s a good idea to talk with someone. This could be a friend, family member, clergy, or therapist. Often, just having someone else hear us and validate our feelings can help relieve stress.

If you’d like to speak to someone, please get in touch with us.

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Emotional Wellbeing Check

An Emotional Wellbeing Check is a 30 minute consultation to give you an overview of how you are doing with your psychological wellbeing. It will highlight key areas of your wellness and give an indication as to whether there are any areas of your life that would benefit from some attention. Like any other health check up, an emotional wellbeing check is an important part of staying on top of your mental health. With no commitment to engaging in regular therapy, this service offers a useful measure of your overall emotional wellbeing.

When might an emotional wellbeing check be beneficial?

  • Something feels “off”, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is
  • You are considering embarking on therapy, but you remain uncertain as to whether this would be beneficial for you
  • You have a history of mental health difficulties and want to stay on top of your emotional wellbeing


Following the wellbeing check you will be provided with a brief summary report with recommendations from Dr Shamarel. As this is not a service that insurance companies typically reimburse for, you will not be given a formal diagnosis.