What are examples of holiday stressors?
Dr. Martin: There are more things to do than we have the time to do them. Our lives are full, often to the brim, with holiday extras. A lot of the things that people do during the holidays feel like obligations rather than choice. That accentuates our feeling of helplessness. You might see, for example, a young couple, both of whom have jobs, and they have a couple of younger children. At holiday time, they feel a need to have their own Christmas and they have to go to both families of origin to celebrate Christmas as well. And obviously, that adds to the time pressures. It may increase marital stress, because a spouse might feel his or her side of the family is being shortchanged. Oasis: What are other examples? Dr. Martin: Most of us have routines in our lives. Routines, although we may call them boring, are there because they are efficient. We can get up, shower, get dressed and get to work without having a single conscious thought because we do the same thing every day. The other t
