For some people, the holidays are their absolute favorite time of the year. For others, the holidays are utterly dreaded for an assortment of reasons - including an increase in stress, anxiety and even depression.

So what are the best methods of helping yourself, and others around you, to effectively cope with the holiday blues? Let's first take a look at just how the holidays can have a negative consequence on so many of us; the following is a brief listing of just some of the most frequently seen symptoms of holiday anxiety and the holiday blues.

• Feeling overwhelmed
• Depressed
• Irritable
• Fatigued
• Feeling drained emotionally
• Disrupted sleep patterns
• Feeling anxious, nervous, or otherwise on edge

You do not have to dread the holidays; there are fantastic methods of dealing with these difficult couple months so that you can approach them installing much healthier coping methods. Of course, the techniques that you employ will differ substantially based upon the underlying reasons for your holiday blues.

Let's take a look at some of the things that might be contributing factors to the way that the holiday season affects you.

• Too much tension in the workplace
• Feeling pressured to host the perfect holiday events
• Drinking in excess as a means of dealing
• Financial tension associated with the expectations so many have of presents, entertaining and travel
• Deviating from our regular routines
• Unresolved issues with family members with whom you have to spend time
• Traveling out of town, out of state, or even out of the country - travel can easily be hugely demanding, especially when traveling with kids

Thankfully there are multiple things that you can easily do in order to reduce your overall worry levels and help you get through this once-dreaded season with a much more desirable attitude and emotion about it.

• Try to limit your alcohol consumption; it might help initially to take the edge of off stress and anxiety but it can take a significant physical toll on you when you overindulge.
• You must do your utmost to maintain a healthy diet that is well-balanced.
• Try to keep yourself and your kids on as regular a routine as possible; interrupting the routine can leave everyone tired and cranky.
• Be certain that you take a couple minutes out of your day to do a few helpful stress-relief meditations.
• Keeping up with your exercise routines can also be hugely beneficial.
• Try not to put so much pressure on yourself to host the perfect events; don't be afraid to ask for a little bit of support.
• Be realistic about exactly how much time you can commit to events, gatherings, and other holiday festivities-- say NO! And turn down some of them if you simply do not have the time.
• Also be realistic about the finances-- if you can not afford to get gifts for everyone in the family then you should have a discussion with everyone about more reasonable methods of managing the gifts situation.
• Setting a spending restriction can also make a huge difference.

You have the ability to control just how you approach the holidays. A bit of careful planning that includes taking a bit of time for yourself to include healthy and balanced strategies for coping with worry, will help you to sail through the holidays with ease. Do not forget the value of meditation, simplifying and sticking to your exercise routine.

Author Kaylee Murphy is a psychotherapist who helps people manage and reduce stress inorder to have more joy, freedom and better health. To get her free ebook so you can learn easy and clever stress reduction techniques visit her website today http://www.kayleedmurphy.com/