Surviving the December stress

Christmas and New Year traditions live forever. Changes take place with the material things, the people around us, the ways of expression but the twelfth month of the year calls for a fitting end. We all feel the urge and the desire to salute a year's ending as befitting as possible because during a whole year, some dreams came true, new people entered our lives, and even if there were unhappiness at times, we took them as valuable lessons and became wiser.

December is full of traditions but to be a slave to tradition is another thing. A little Christmas stress is allowable if we have the inclination to do something we find pleasure in, like piling presents under the Christmas tree, preparing a big Christmas dinner with delicacies - some of which are done well ahead of time, having all the colorful lights on and the decors that make the home a fantasy land. The centerpiece is really the Christmas table and the Christmas tree. They have to be beautiful.

The unwanted stress usually comes from work, from last minute things-to-do before taking off for a two-week holiday. But there are those who cannot take similar holiday breaks- like people working in the medical and geriatric care. When you are responsible for other peoples' lives and well-being, you forget your own needs.

Holidays are not happily granted to healthcare personnel who want to go on holiday, hence many call in sick. And this is where the real stress and frustration come in. No substitutes are available at such short notice. A care team looking after some 25 to 50 old and sick people is forced to cope with a diminished work force. Some have to extend their working time from eight to twelve hours. At the end of that shift, there is no more energy left for anything else.

How does one recover from December stress? It is an important health question that needs to be answered. It is not just a private concern, but an employers' responsibility as well. According to Sweden's Previa - a company that deals with corporate problems of work environment-related sickness, it is very important to find time and space to break away from all work-related matters for one's own self-recovery. Never become a slave to tradition if you don't find pleasure in doing so. Do something more pleasurable and forget the unpleasant ones.

Previa even warns employers to be extra meticulous in detecting overstress among the employees and to take burnout signals seriously. It is less expensive for the state to be more generous and attentive to the employees than to pay for a long-term rehabilitation care. Norway gives a taxfree December salary, which is a good gesture of appreciation. Others give away baskets of foodstuff, boxes of goodies and flowers. But in these days of tight budgets the material rewards at the end of the year are few and seldom. There are no fringe benefits and few words of gratitude.

Recovering from December stress becomes a private concern. As for me, I forget the workplace the moment I get out of its doors. It does not exist any longer because it carries a lot of unpleasant reminders. The only things I care about are the people I love, the friends who are there for me when I need company and conversation, especially the ones who never stop sending cheerful and loving SMS messages, even as early as seven in the morning. When the heart is happy, love is never far behind. Caring and being cared for are the best medicine against stress and burnouts.#