Healthy, productive ways to cope with holiday stress

by Senior Airman Thomas Spangler
99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

12/17/2014 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev.  -- As the holiday season quickly approaches, many Airmen become stressed when they try to figure out how to deal with visiting families, preparing large meals and buying gifts for loved ones. For others, stress can manifest because this could be their first time away from family during the holidays.

Different people have different ways of coping with the stress, it is important that those coping mechanisms are healthy and constructive.

For those Airmen who are hosting their families or large parties this holiday season, it is easy to become overwhelmed or concerned about cost.

The 99th Medical Operations Squadron Mental Health Clinic has these suggestions to help cope with the stress:

· Take time for yourself. It's important to give personal time for you and your guests.
· Create a "to-do" list and divide it into manageable chunks. When you complete one task, cross if off.
· Share the responsibility. Having one less thing to do will lower your stress. Don't do everything yourself -- share the wealth.
· Be creative when it comes to gift-giving. Make gifts more personal and focused on shared activity like a hike or going out to the movies.
· Making creative gifts not only saves money, but is also a constructive outlet and effective stress reliever.

In addition to these tips, physical exercise can also be an excellent stress reliever.

"Hit up the local gym for at least 20 minutes," said Tech. Sgt. Amber Pennington, 99th Medical Operations Squadron NCO in charge of Mental Health Resiliency. "Exercise not only produces endorphins that make us feel good but it also boosts our self-esteem."

While it is important to maintain healthy outlets for stress relief, Airmen should also steer clear of negative coping mechanisms.

"Unhealthy coping skills will actually increase our stress levels," Pennington said. "Some unhealthy coping skills may include increased alcohol consumption, over eating or increased risk-taking activities."

For those Airmen who may be stressed from being away from family this holiday season, remember to maintain positive outlets for that stress as well.

Airmen who are away from their families can take it as an opportunity to strengthen friendships which can develop into surrogate families.

"Stress comes down to disconnection from yourself and with others," said Chaplain (Capt.) Glenn Harris, 99th Air Base Wing Chapel Corps. "We want to support opportunities for Airmen to reconnect and de-stress. That can be through activities like the dorm dinners, the cookie drive and the Christmas tree giveaway."

In addition to taking time for one's self, Harris emphasized investing time into developing one's spirituality. This can be through faith, family or friends.

This holiday season when stress begins to pile up, remember to take some personal time to care for yourself, whether it be through physical exercise, spiritual development or some other creative activity.