The Holiday season has become incredibly hectic—what used to be a few days of tradition is now two months of frenzy. However, actively thinking and planning ahead how you want to approach the season and all its parties, traditions and family obligations can help manage all that chaos. Lesley Seeger, LCSW, staff therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University, is available to comment on the ways planning ahead can help families, couples and individuals handle the holiday stress.
“It’s important to determine how much time you have before you can determine how much time you want to spend shopping for gifts, baking cookies, or socializing,” says Ms. Seeger. “It’s helpful not to wait until right before the big holidays to determine how you’ll split up your time — do so in advance. Schedule when you’ll run important errands, decide which parties or events you’ll attend, and don’t forget to build in downtime so it’s not all about the Holidays.”
However, Ms. Seeger also points out that planning ahead is not all about planning for parties and shopping. “Planning ahead can help you stay healthy during this hectic and cold-ridden season,” she says. “Scheduling things in advance can help you prevent running yourself ragged or losing sleep. During busy times, it can be very easy to neglect ourselves. As you schedule your holiday activities, try to fit in as much time as you can for things like making healthy meals, getting enough sleep, and exercising.”It’s also important to remember flexibility. While planning ahead can reduce stress and help make the Holiday season go smoother, it’s impossible to plan for everything. Remember that breaks from your regular schedule can be a good thing—they offer variety and mark the time of year as different and special.
Lesley Seeger obtained her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Boston College, where she trained at both McLean Hospital's behavioral health partial hospital program and a halfway house for women in recovery from substance abuse. She is a staff therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University and is a member of the Mindfulness and Behavioral Therapies Program. To discuss how planning ahead can help ease the stress and anxiety of the Holidays or to learn more about The Family Institute, please contact Colleen O’Connor, Content & Grant Manager, at [email protected] or 312-609-5300 ext. 485.
ABOUT THE FAMILY INSTITUTE AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY – For 45 years, The Family Institute at Northwestern University (www.family-institute.org) has been committed to strengthening and healing families from all walks of life through clinical service, education and research. An affiliate of Northwestern University, The Family Institute is a unique, innovative not-for-profit organization, governed by its own independent Board of Directors and responsible for its own funding. The Institute offers a wide range of high quality mental health counseling through our staff practice and our sliding-fee scale Bette D. Harris Family and Child Clinic, where we are committed to serving at-risk, under-resourced communities. The Family Institute also operates two nationally-renowned graduate programs in marriage and family therapy and counseling psychology in affiliation with Northwestern University, and conducts cutting edge research projects that lead to a better understanding and treatment of mental health issues.
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