Staying healthy during the holidays isn’t just about eating the right foods and staying active.

The holidays can be a stressful time so taking care of your mental and emotional health is just as important as managing your weight.

Kathryn Manley, a relationship therapist at Michael Burke and Associates in Kearney, shared her thoughts with Sweet Success about why we get stressed during this time of year and how to prevent holiday stress and anxiety.

Reverting to childish behavior

“I have seen that when people get together with their families, they sometimes regress to the behavior patterns they had when they were younger, relating to parents and siblings the way they did growing up.

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I get headaches on a fairly regular basis. Mine are triggered by intense exercise, lack of sleep, not eating enough and tension. To get rid of my headaches, I pop ibuprofen. If the headache persists, I drink a Diet Coke. Caffeine often relieves my pain. But I have been wanting to find healthier ways to treat my headaches and maybe even prevent them.

If you get regular or even the occasional headache, read this article for tips on prevention and treatment:

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So you’re not into meditation. That’s OK. You don’t have to say, “Ommm,” to reduce stress.

There are forms of gentle exercise that can help you reduce stress.

Yoga is meant to help you find peace with your mind and body, which can help you relax and manage your stress or anxiety.

The gentle movements of T’ai Chi can also help you relax. Ai Chi is meant to help you find calmness through T’ai Chi movements in the relaxing atmosphere of water.

So now you know what to do. Want to know where to go? I’ve compiled a list of places in Kearney that offer stress reducing classes:

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Is it bad that I’ve been stressing over writing a blog about coping with stress?

Work has been quite overwhelming lately. Every time I cross something off my to-do list, I add two more tasks that need to be done.

According to the Mayo Clinic, 25 percent of people say work is the main source of stress in their lives. Feeling stressed at work can impact your personal life including your relationships and your health.

Some stress is actually good for you. If a deadline is looming, the stress you feel can motivate you to get it done. But prolonged stress is not good. The Mayo Clinic says that high stress levels have been linked to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, impaired immune response and more.

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Yesterday morning I was calmly finishing up my work on deadline, feeling good about the day ahead. I decided to have a cup of coffee. I wasn’t feeling sluggish or tired. I just enjoy the warm feeling and bitter taste of coffee and thought it sounded like the perfect mid-morning treat. I soon noticed my calmness disappear and a sweep of stress and anxiety come over me. My to-do list that seemed manageable earlier suddenly became overwhelming. I need to get that story done! I need to email this person! I need to set up that interview! Ahhhh! I was caffeinated and frantic.

Caffeine is obviously a stimulant and can actually lead to stress, anxiety and insomnia. In small quantities, caffeine can improve mental abilities. For me, a small quantity means a teensy tiny amount. I’m not a soda drinker so coffee is my only source of caffeine. Even a small cup makes me feel jittery and edgy. But it tastes so good!

I’ve decided to cut down on my coffee drinking to help reduce stress. I’m declaring this as I drink a cup of coffee, but my resolution WILL start tomorrow.

As I researched caffeine and stress, I realized there are many foods that actually help decrease stress!

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As part of our effort to help employees learn how to manage stress, the Kearney Hub is offering in-office massages tomorrow!!

Kari Worthington from Klinginsmith Chiropractic will be here all day giving 15-minute chair massages to employees.

Massages aren’t only beneficial for relaxation and stress reduction though. Massages can even help manage weight! Woo hoo!

According to the Mayo Clinic, massage can help with stress relief, managing anxiety and depression, dealing with pain or stiffness, managing blood pressure, boosting immunity and cancer treatment.

Last year, the New York Times published an article about a study that found massage can actually cause biological changes. According to the study, volunteers who had a Swedish massage had a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol.

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Welcome to the Sweet Success Blog!!

Sweet Success is all about achieving a healthy lifestyle by making small steps in your daily life. I will post tips on living a healthy life, recipes, updates on what we do at the Kearney Hub to stay healthy and personal stories about my own journey to living a healthy life.

Please leave comments or email me with your thoughts about my posts or ideas for future posts.

This month is all about stress management at the Hub. Whether you’re trying to balance work and family or feeling overwhelmed with a busy schedule, there are ways to manage the stress in your life!

Yesterday, Brenda Envick and Linda Shaw, therapists from the University of Nebraska at Kearney Counseling and Health Care Center, came to the Hub to talk about stress management and led us in a very relaxing meditation session.

Linda talked a lot about job satisfaction and how to make work more rewarding. I’m sure everyone has had job burnout at some point, whether it’s from not having enough control at work or having a mismatch in values from your employer or a number of other reasons. Do you lack energy to be consistently productive? Do you feel disillusioned about your job? These are symptoms of job burnout. Luckily, there is something you can do!

Say no! Saying no allows you to honor your existing obligations, Linda said.

Linda also suggested thinking about what motivates and inspires you. Think about how you felt when you first started your job and what made you excited about it. Also think about why you work. With the economy, you may not be able to change jobs. By trying to change how you think about your job may improve your job satisfaction.

Brenda said taking even five minutes a day to close your eyes and focus on your breathing is beneficial. Increasing the amount of oxygen in your body creates a calming effect, she said.

Inhale while counting to five slowly. Let the breath out while counting to five slowly. Repeat five times. Continue to breath slowly while imagining relaxing at a beach or at home under the covers.

This was seriously relaxing in the middle of a hectic workday! Who cares if you look a little odd sitting at your desk breathing deeply with your eyes closed. It’s for your health and sanity!

Sara