Do You Have the Holiday Spirit? How (and Why) the Holidays Impact Our Mood

December 16, 2022 Vera

If Scrooge and the Grinch can find the holiday spirit, can you?

Research shows that holiday images, memories of childhood, songs and even Hallmark movies can all help contribute to a sense of happiness that can be dubbed the “holiday spirit” or “good cheer.”

“There is a subconscious code of generosity, kindness and charity that the holidays promote, known as ‘holiday spirit,’” notes Carla Schnitzlein, DO, medical director of Natchaug Hospital, part of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network.

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But where does that ‘holiday spirit’ come from?

This, research shows, is due to a variety of factors, including:

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If your holiday memories are happy, your brain will be too.

Several years ago, a researcher performed brain scans on one group of people who celebrated Christmas and another that did not. When shown holiday images, those in the former group showed activity in the front of the brain, where happiness registers.

“Many of us associate the holidays with positive memories and our brains are wired to respond in certain ways when we view certain images, either pleasant or unpleasant,” Dr. Schnitzlein says. “If the holiday memories you have are happy, your brain is more likely to respond in a way that represents happiness or joy.”

It works for music, too, she adds.

“Musical concepts like tempo, rhythm and key impact mood,” she notes. “Major keys, in which many holiday songs are written, are considered happy sounding and can put us in the holiday mindset and spirit.”

This, research indicates, might be why retailers start playing holiday tunes early, hoping they encourage spending.

Not feeling so happy? This might explain why.

The music, lights and trappings of the holidays don’t feel joyous to everyone, however.

“Certainly, may people have strong family connections and wonderful family traditions, which helps promote a positive outlook during the holidays,” Dr. Schnitzlein says. “That said, not everyone has these connections, and they can feel isolated during the holidays.”

Another consideration, she adds, is the 38% of people who, when surveyed, reported increased stress, anxiety and other mental health concerns.

“We have to remember that, although the holidays can spark joy in a large part of the population, it can also be challenging to those with strained family relationships or limited financial means,” Dr. Schnitzlein says.

Traditional Ways to Celebrate Holiday Seasons

December 9, 2022December 9, 2022 Vera

The holiday season can be hectic and stressful, but there are many ways to make the season more special. They can be simple and inexpensive. Adding little moments of joy to the season can create great memories. These moments can be as simple as baking cookies or going to a holiday wonderland.

Giving back to the community

One of the most traditional ways to celebrate the holiday season is by giving back to the community. You can volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank or buy food and wrap gifts for needy families. If you want to get involved, you can form a group and help the homeless in your area.

Getting together with your family and discussing ways to give back to your community is a great way to create a family tradition. You can even brainstorm ideas for activities you and your family can do together, whether old holiday traditions or new ones.

Sharing positive and encouraging words with family

When you are feeling down, sending encouraging words to your loved ones can be a great way to make them feel better. Sending cards or notes to your family can also be a great way to spread cheer. During the holiday season, consider writing some encouraging words to your family.

If your family has no unique holiday traditions, try to establish new ones. Some common ones are watching movies together on Christmas Eve and reading the Night Before Christmas. Before the big day, you could also read a classic Christmas story to your family, like A Christmas Carol.

Baking and decorating Christmas cookies

Baking and decorating Christmas cookies is one of the oldest traditions worldwide. These treats have a long history dating back to the 10th to 11th centuries. During this time, the winter solstice was a time of feasting, and cookies were often baked in large batches and stored for sharing. It was also a time to give gifts, though these were often not material items. Most gifts were handmade crafts or sweets.

Baking and decorating Christmas cookies is an activity that families enjoy every holiday season. These delicious treats are edible holiday decorations that can also be given as last-minute gifts. They are a great way to get kids involved in the holiday spirit. You can bake and decorate various Christmas cookies, from snowflakes to Santa and star cookies. Some recipes are complicated and require …

2022 Holiday gift guides – Gifts for health and fitness fanatics!

December 3, 2022 Vera

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Health and health experts from Flex Appeal give strategies for balanced having this holiday break time

December 26, 2021 Vera

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Just before you achieve for that next slice of Christmas cake, you might want to feel about this: dieticians say the regular person gains a very little a lot more than just one pound above the holiday seasons, which may not seem like considerably, but that overindulgence could choose a toll on your physique, notably your digestive system.

When in doubt, insert colour to your plate and sip smarter. Those are just two methods any one can have a balanced tactic to balanced consuming for the duration of the approaching festivities.

“A great deal of men and women are actually thrilled about the holiday seasons, and all they can assume about is the food items,” Trista Eason, proprietor of Flex Appeal, mentioned.

Far more jingle, less jiggle, but how can you attain that with so several incredibly hot getaway dishes at the dinning home table? Eason thinks it is all about moderation.

“Yes, it is ok to enjoy holiday break food,” Eason explained. “It’s a thing that arrives around once a year you’re searching ahead to your grandma’s pie.”

Member of the Flex Charm workforce and nutritionist Chase Wolf mentioned when you do take pleasure in people favorites, also try to load up on the superior things – like vegetables – as very well.

“We advise a palmful of protein at every meal for females, cup of carbs, a fistful of veggies, a thumb-comprehensive of excess fat,” Wolf stated. “That’s 1 of all those things wherever no make any difference exactly where you go, you always have your palms with you, so you can sort of estimate, ‘Am I hitting a well balanced meal?”

Soon after you finish taking in, you really do not have to just sit all-around.

“What you wanna do is not graze all day,” Eason explained. “Go ahead and set the foods up when you’re accomplished ingesting make certain you even now try to eat standard foods – breakfast lunch, dinner, in among the foods just get outside and perform.”

Undertaking individuals matters, like likely for a walk with the family members or just simply providing oneself a stopping place when you’re whole, can be practical much too.

“Recognizing when you are whole, building certain you’re truly ingesting h2o all through the working day, a palmful of protein for

What does ‘family’ imply for the holiday seasons? | Health and Physical fitness

November 13, 2021 Vera

At a session earlier this 12 months, my therapist reminded me that no experience is ultimate. This phrase genuinely resonated with me as I am processing abuse and trauma from my organic spouse and children so I wrote it on a put up-it that I continue to keep on my desk. Specifically throughout the holiday break year, we are flooded with so numerous emotions, some nice and some not so enjoyable. We are informed regularly as a result of adverts missing a trauma-educated solution that we must be delighted for the duration of the holiday season and that the time is greatest expended with your household, which is invariably outlined as moms and dads, siblings and children.

The continuous barrage of messages about how you are supposed to really feel at the holiday break year results in tension to suppress your thoughts and just set on your happy deal with as you try to make your way through the time. What if you are estranged from your blood relatives or dread the confrontations that predictably happen at holiday break gatherings? A buddy of mine formulated post-traumatic anxiety dysfunction (PTSD) from the genuine physical battles that would occur at her mother’s household in the center of holiday getaway meals. These battles sometimes necessitated ambulance visits thanks to the injuries. As a consequence, to this day, she gets nauseous hunting at turkey and pumpkin pie.

The content ending to this story, while, is that this good friend made a decision to do some thing about these traumatic holiday break occasions and as a substitute now spends the holidays with her “logical family” or “chosen family” instead of her biological household. But what exactly does “logical family” indicate? Reasonable family members accepts you for who you are and welcomes you no make any difference who you appreciate, what you are sporting or exactly where you are operating. Most importantly, rational family does not inform you how you really should come to feel or with whom you are obligated to spend the holiday seasons.

As Barbara Costello, Director of Outpatient Providers (Decide) at Taos Behavioral Wellbeing (TBH) commented, “Especially at holiday getaway time, self-treatment is exceptionally essential. No matter what the situations you encounter, paying out time with the men and women you really like is essential – even if they are not family.”

So as you are preparing the subsequent couple of months