Resources to Reduce Holiday Stress

The holiday season can be especially stressful for those with disabilities, especially mental illness. Expectations for this time of year run high, especially when fed by images of perfect families and idyllic lives provided by the media. There are a number of resources with excellent ideas to help with stress reduction, provide reasonable expectations, and help you deal with psychological challenges.

You may choose to begin with tips to prevent difficulties you've faced in the past. Or, you may need to implement ideas to deal with problems in progress. Take a look at these lists, and chances are you'll find some useful suggestions:

Proactive Strategies

• Psych Central - 8 tips to make the most of your holidays
• Psych Central - Making happy changes for the holidays 
• Web MD - Preventing depression during the holidays
• Psych Central - Simplifying the holidays 
• Psych Central - Spiritual strategies 
• Psych Central - Stress busters 
• Psych Central - Therapist Traditions 

Reactive Strategies

• Psych Central - 8 ways to cope
• Psych Central - 8 ways to take the joy out of your holidays 
• Psych Central - 9 ways to cope with the holidays when you have a mental illness - 
• Web MD - Coping with depressing during the holidays 
• Mayo Clinic - Coping with stress and depression during the holidays 
• Psych Central - Coping with loneliness 
• Psych Central - Enjoying the season 
• American Medical Resource Institute - Overcoming holiday depression for elderly and caregivers 
• Cleveland Clinic - Managing Holiday Stress 
• Psych Central - What not to do 

What are your best tips for managing holiday stress and depression?