This guest article from YourTango was written by Jennifer Chappell Marsh.
The holidays are special because of the opportunities we get to connect or reconnect with friends and family. But we all know that they can also cause a lot of stress because of the complexity that is added to our everyday lives: travel, in-laws, financial pressures, cooking, and shopping all start to pile up in our already busy schedules.
We are all equipped to deal with a certain level of stress, but at a certain point our bodies throw up the white flag and we’re left feeling exhausted and short-tempered. As a result, we may be less capable of managing relationship conflicts and keeping a positive outlook. So, how do we manage the holidays while maintaining a strong connection with our partners?
Below are five ways to help keep that connection strong and avoid a food fight with the fruit cake.
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Site last updated: 24 May 2013
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People appreciate the help they can get online for these problems and how much of an advantage they can be at with that!
I like the point about ‘planning for conflict’ because I typically just think about how to avoid conflict instead of how to proactively manage it! Good advice.
Awesome advice! My wife and I have families in two geographically distant locales, and trying to make the Holidays fun and fulfilling for us often seems like “work,” with lots of frustration & quick snaps -but we’ve found that most of our arguments occur because we are operating on expectations, not communication, and by the time something appears to be wrong it can be too late to fix.
I love the idea of putting it all out there on the table, AHEAD of time. Also, having a bit more patience works pretty well, too -and I really appreciate this article for the clarity it brings to that special “gift” we can give our partner at the holidays.
Thanks for the help!
Where can I find more articles like this? Does the author Twitter, or anything?
Thank you for an informative and helpful article!
It is so amazing that even the simple act of gift giving can be so stressful. This is a great article that provides practical advice to reduce stress during an already stressful time of the year.
Great article! Wonderful advice on how to navigate the holiday season/ stress while maintaining a healthy relationship.
This is a very timely and useful article for my private practice counseling with clients during this holiday season. We posted the article on our business Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/healinghomework. Please visit us. Thanks!