Tips for Coping with Holiday Stress

Have you noticed that people are getting a little testy? The stress of the holidays seems to bring out the Bah! Humbug! in us all. Shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, school programs -- the list of things that have to be squeezed into the next few days seems overwhelming. There's nothing like a little stress to suck the joy right out of the holidays!

It doesn't have to be that way. Follow these tips and you can decrease your holiday stress and have a holly, jolly Christmas. Happy Holidays!

• Keep your holiday expectations manageable. Make a list and prioritize it. Be realistic. This isn't the time to reorganize all the closets or scour the fridge. Do what is most important to you and your family. Concentrate on the activities that make the holidays special. Anything else can be scratched off the list and done some other time.
• Do something nice for someone else. Shovel the neighbor's walk, help out at the homeless shelter, bake cookies for the fire station, volunteer at the food pantry. Nothing makes us feel as good as helping someone else.
• Don't get bogged down trying to create "the good old days." Life is ever changing. Holiday traditions and activities should change to accommodate changes in your lifestyle.
• Concentrate on the holiday activities and traditions that make you happy. If you've always gone to your neighbor's cookie exchange but dread baking 6 dozen cookies, skip it this year. If making a dozen batches of the family peanut brittle recipe is getting to be too exhausting, pass the torch -- and the recipe -- to the next generation.
• Don't add to your stress by overtaxing your budget. There are plenty of free activities to enjoy, such as driving around to admire the neighborhood Christmas decorations, building a snowman with the kids, visiting the animals at the humane society, stringing popcorn while you watch your favorite Christmas movies.
• Spend time with the people you enjoy most. Limit the time you spend with people who make you feel uncomfortable or who add to your stress, even if they are family. If visiting family is stressful, show up for Christmas dinner and just stay an hour or two to visit and exchange gifts.
• Save some time for yourself. Do something just for you that makes you feel happy or pampered.

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Get Involved to Cure Loneliness

The holidays are not a happy time for everyone. For many people who are separated from their families or who have lost a partner, the holidays are a lonely time. Seeing other families gathering together augments their feelings of loss. The burden of loneliness can feel particularly heavy during the holidays.

Rather than dwell on your loneliness, reach out to others. "Loneliness is often caused by wanting people to do something for us," explains psychologist Hap LeCrone. "When we do things for other people, we are rarely lonely."

Here are some things you can do to combat loneliness during the holidays (and all year round):

• Reach out. If a friend or acquaintance is also alone this holiday, invite them over for a cup of coffee or a bite to eat. Go to a movie together or out shopping to see the mall decorations.
• Volunteer. Serve food at the local soup kitchen, take small gifts and visit with the elderly in nursing homes, drive seniors to doctor appointments, deliver Meals on Wheels, help out at the local food pantry. Check with your church or local volunteer bureau; volunteers are particularly needed during the holidays.
• Re-connect with friends. Call someone you haven't talked with in a while and catch up on the news. Send a newsy card or email to an older relative. Invite a neighbor over for coffee.
• Get involved. Take a class or start a hobby. Think of something you've always wanted to do and get out there and do it.
• Get moving. Loneliness can lead to depression and nothing fights depression better than exercise. Join a gym, take a swim class, join a walking group, sign up for the park district volleyball team, join the yoga class at the senior center. Nothing creates a friendly bond like sweating together!
• Help others. The best cure for loneliness is to do something for other people. Giving of yourself lightens your load and theirs. You can find ways to reach out even if you're housebound. Organize a small phone network of other homebound people through your local church or senior services. Take turns checking on each other and sharing news.

When you give of yourself to others, you stop thinking about how difficult your own life is. If you're lonely this holiday, do something to help other people and reap the joy that comes from giving of yourself.

"Bugs" in Your Food Can Keep You Healthy

It's the latest health craze: adding bugs to your food. Not the creepy, crawly kind! These "bugs" are probiotics, or "friendly" microscopic bacteria like those normally found in your digestive tract. Manufacturers are adding them to everything from yogurt to baby formula to help keep you healthy, not make you sick.

Promising to "regulate your digestive health" or "strengthen your body's defenses," major food manufactures like Kraft and Dannon are promoting a growing number of products that contain probiotics in an effort to capitalize on the burgeoning health food craze. Experts say the microbes are generally safe and might even be helpful, though more research is needed to verify the rather vague claims appearing on food labels. This week the National Institutes of Health is sponsoring a conference where scientists will discuss recent advances.

This year more than 150 probiotic and prebiotic (fiber and nutrient containing microbes that feed probiotic bacteria) products have been introduced in the U.S., compared to 100 in 2006 and just 40 in 2005. Current studies of probiotics suggest they may be beneficial in treating gastroenteritis, diarrhea and some allergic skin reactions.

Holiday Sniffles? Could Be Your Tree!

Do you have a case of the holiday sniffles? It could be your Christmas tree! Allergists have long suspected a link between "live" Christmas trees and the rash of runny, itchy noses they see each December. The problem is that once they're cut -- usually weeks before Christmas -- the evergreens are no longer live, but dead. And nature's way of breaking down dead plants is through mold, a powerful allergen.

In an experiment to prove the mold theory, Connecticut allergy specialist Dr. John Santilli placed a cut Christmas tree inside an apartment and took air samples for two weeks. The normal mold count in a typical home is 500 to 700 spores per cubic meter of air. Within 24 hours of placing the tree in the apartment, the mold count rose to 800 spores per cubic meter. By day 14, the mold count had skyrocketed to 5,000 spores per cubic meter.

"The longer you keep the tree up, the worse it gets," said Santilli, who recently presented his findings at a meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in Dallas. A tree begins decaying as soon as it's cut, Santilli explained. "Mother Nature's cleanup crew is the mold. The molds take over and start decaying it." Add in the dry needles, leaves and grass in their branches and Christmas trees are an allergy disaster waiting to happen.

If you or a family member suffer from allergies, you might consider getting an artificial tree this year. Not only will you breathe easier, but there won't be any needles to pick out of the carpet after the holidays!

If your Christmas tradition demands a real tree, allergists suggest spraying the tree down with a good stiff spray from a garden hose first, then letting it dry before bringing it inside. The less time it spends in your house, the easier you'll breathe.

Tips for Safe Holiday Decorating

I watched the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while I was wrapping gifts last night. I laughed at the scene where Clark Griswold (comedian Chevy Chase) skids down the roof, snags the gutter and hangs from his fingertips for one, brief hopeful moment before the gutter comes loose and sends him crashing into the bushes below. Funny stuff on film, but not so much in real life.

Every year overzealous decorators have their own "Griswold moment" while trying to outdo the neighbors and light up the Christmas night. Starting in mid-November when holiday lights start going up, emergency runs increase noticeably, say local firefighters. There's a bit of a lull right around Christmas, then another increase as lights come down after New Year's.

Nationwide, hospitals see an average 5,822 decorating injuries from November through January. Ladders are involved in 43% of those injuries. Foot and ankle injuries (sprains and breaks) are among the most common injuries. The most common causes of ladder injuries are: reaching too far, improperly positioning or supporting the ladder, and not stabilizing the ladder base so it won't slip.

To hang holiday lights without a trip to the ER, follow these safety tips:

• Don't lean.
• Don't overstretch.
• Don't use the top rung as a step.
• Wear skid-proof shoes.
• Make sure the base of the ladder is firmly planted on the ground.
• Have someone hold the bottom of the ladder as you climb.

Take your time putting up outdoor (and indoor) decorations and be safe this holiday. I'd like to see you around to enjoy the new year! Happy decorating!

Scam Warning: Betting on Death

There's a life insurance scam going around I want to warn you about. Targeted particularly at seniors, STOLI (stranger-oriented life insurance) arrangements allow strangers to buy insurance on your life, effectively betting that you'll die soon enough for them to collect on their investment.

The problem is right on our doorstep. It has become so pronounced in Ohio that legislators are working to pass a law that would outlaw STOLI arrangements.

"You have no idea who has an insurable interest in your life," explained Ohio Rep. Jay Hottinger, sponsor of the anti-STOLI bill. "I wouldn't feel too comfortable walking around not knowing who's betting on me to die and wanting me to die."

Here's how the scam works: Promising free insurance or quick cash, the offers target seniors aged 65 to 85, particularly wealthier folks who can take out large policies. The investors offer to pay your life insurance premium for two years. If you die during those two years, your designated beneficiaries (usually family) get the money. If you don't die, either you repay the entire two-year premium or the investors take over the policy. They either get the money when you die or can cash in the policy and strip it of its value.

So what's the problem? The deal can leave you with less money than you planned on. You may be saddled with unexpected tax liabilities. It can negatively impact your ability to purchase additional life insurance. There's also concern in the industry that the problem could lead to an overall increase in life insurance rates. But the biggest fear is that it could lead to criminal activity.

"I hear lots of people, including regulators, saying that they could see this as a great new field of business for Tony Soprano," said Faith Williams, legislative counsel for the Association of Ohio Life Insurance Companies.

The national life insurance industry has been petitioning states to put a stop to STOLI transactions and ensure that only family members and business partners can purchase life insurance for an individual. "It's not a very good practice, generally, for strangers to have a substantial financial interest in your death," said Hottinger. "That's certainly not what life insurance was designed to do."

If someone approaches you about life insurance, call me. Don't let yourself be scammed. I'll give you the same honest professional advice I'd give my own parents or siblings. For a quick primer on life insurance basics, click the post title. If you would like more information, or I can help you in any way, please click here to contact me or call me today at 502-742-4979.