Is a Season of Stress Damaging Your Ability to Stay Healthy?

There’s something besides viruses and bacteria that can weaken your immune system and make it more difficult for you to stay healthy - stress. Every season can be one that brings on a different type of stress.

When the fall season rolls in, it brings with it back to school and the holidays. There’s Thanksgiving and then Christmas. While these can be times of celebration, more often than not, they bring in a lot of stress.

Unmet expectations during holidays can cause stress. Many people have a picture of what they’d like the holiday to be like, but inevitably, it falls short. There can be family strife, relationship issues, or work deadlines that are tighter due to the holidays.

Many people also experience a lot of financial pressure. It can be stressful and expensive to spend the money to travel to be with family during the holidays. On top of that, there are gifts to buy for relatives, friends and coworkers.

The demand on your time increases, too. All of a sudden, the number of commitments you have to deal with can double. It seems that there’s always something to take care of, another store to visit or a purchase to make.

You may start to feel that you’re running yourself ragged. This can easily cause stress and anxiety during the holidays. You want to enjoy them, but you’re too tired physically. If there’s drama or family strife going on, you can also end up worn out emotionally and may find yourself just wishing the holidays were over.

During these winter months with less light, some people are affected with SAD, which can make everything feel even more stressful and depressing. Other seasons bring other challenges.

During the summer when the kids are out of school, if you work full time and your kids are younger, then you have to deal with childcare issues. You may find that you’re having to pay more money for childcare....