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Why stress can be good for you

Frenetic festivities are a fact of life at this time of year. By changing how you respond to it, you can convert frantic anxiety (bad) into positive energy and excitement (good).

By Dr. Patricia Mark

"Cancel!" her friend Angie yelped, horrified. "Not likely! I have a new dress to wear. Make it a potluck -- I'll do a dessert!"

Within hours the party was reconfigured, and to her amazement, Jenny realized she was actually looking forward to it. This felt so good that, with candles flickering and carols playing in the background, she phoned her extended family and organized a Christmas Day feast with everyone contributing. This year she is again looking forward to Christmas dinner, another potluck, focusing her energy on all the small creative touches she never felt she had time to do.

Instead of dwelling on the labour necessary to produce a family dinner, Jenny shifted emotional gears and allowed herself to anticipate with pleasure how much fun everyone would have and how fabulous she'd feel when her really great dessert got rave reviews.

Holiday blues begone
The same shift can solve other holiday crunches, such as the drudgery of gift shopping and wrapping. Will it be unrelieved misery, punctuated only by financial panic and sore feet? Could be. On the other hand, you can, even at the last minute, make a commitment to savour the pleasure of choosing or creating special gifts for those you love. Make time for a cappuccino or meet a friend for lunch. And nothing beats the pleasure of wrapping by candlelight with glorious Christmas music in the background. This is when we experience that wonderful sense of inner joy otherwise known as the Christmas spirit.

By becoming your own stress manager (reconfiguring stress into a positive force) you'll learn to welcome challenges and look forward to developing new skills. You'll improve your physical health by strengthening your immune system. You will find it easier to nurture your spirituality, making kindly and confident connections with yourself and others.

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