Stress Around the Holidays

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Allison Stern

Senior Sammy Patterson appearing stressed out while completing an assignment on her computer.

Holidays are known for encompassing busy schedules and crazy relatives. When these distractions come into our lives, stress is never far behind. The weather gets colder, there are suddenly hundreds of gifts that have to be bought, and cousins you have not seen in years are coming into town. Amidst the chaos, schoolwork is progressively becoming more difficult as finals are approaching.

Throughout the school year the majority of my stress is only towards tests and homework overall, usually nothing else,

— junior Olivia Chumbler

Class loads seem to be relatively light in the fall as school first swings into motion as students adjust to their schedules. Once winter hits though, teachers do not hesitate giving students a plentiful load of homework. Finals also fall in the winter.

“I would say I’m most stressed out about my only AP class. This is because I want to try my best so I can pass the exam at the end of the year,” senior Anna Serino said.

If you ask any senior what they are stressed most about, college will be high up on that list. If students applied by the early action deadline they will being hearing back from most colleges in the wintertime. Regular decision deadlines to get applications in also fall in the wintertime, so many students are also rushing to submit before the holidays hit.

“College really stresses me out because it is hard to figure out where you want to go, and making sure that it is the right fit for you,” senior Paige Condon said.

Family is also a large source of all the stress people experience around the holidays. Hosting a holiday for a large group of people means long hours of planning and lots of money. According to Ken Duckworth, a medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, some ways that you can reduce stress around the holidays due to family are to change your outlook, do not do the same old thing, and do not over-do it.

“We usually have our extended family come for the holidays and it causes the majority of our family stress, but it’s fun for the most part,” junior Olivia Chumbler said.

The new year can also bring stress into people’s lives around the holidays. The stress of finishing out the year at work can be stressful for some adults. Many people also set goals of something they want to change during the new year and it can be stressful to make these goals happen, and to adjust to them.

The weather also seems to be an added source of stress around the holidays. The freezing temperatures and dark days sometimes makes people depressed and irritable. It can also cause people to stay cooped up in their homes when they get home from school or work.

“Driving on the icy roads in the wintertime is stressful, because you never know what the conditions will be on a given day,” senior Aaron Patterson said.

Contrary to popular belief, the holidays are a stressful time for a lot of people. Class loads, college, family coming into town, the new year, and the weather are all things that can add stress to an otherwise cheerful time of the year. Students can take measures such as increasing their amount of sleep per night, surround themselves with positive influences, and stay active to help decrease the stress that comes with the winter months.