Stress-Busting During The Christmas Rush

WBZ NewsRadio

Dr . Nadja Lopez, Associate Director of the Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at William James College, discussed holiday stress in an interview with WBZ NewsRadio. Dr. Lopez advised "going for happiness" instead of perfection this holiday season and provided tips for reducing stress.

Click here to read the CBS/WBZ NewsRadio Interview online.

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BOSTON (CBS) - Holiday joy may be everywhere but maneuvering through your to-do list has a way of sucking the peace and harmony out of everything.

Christmas is a week away and Cherisa Zaft bought her tree, but hasn't put it up yet.

"Here it is, ready to go," Zaft told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey.

"And I'm not," she said.

It's not just the tree Zaft, a working mother of three, has to worry about having ready by Christmas.

"Presents for family and getting food ready and people ready," Zaft said.

Zaft says sometimes the hardest thing for her -and perhaps for all of us -are trying to manage the things we think we should be doing.

"You see these things online, on Facebook on Pinterest,like, 'oh, look at these really cute homemade gifts that only took 40 hours per present to make,'" Zaft said.

According to Dr. Nadjia Lopez, a counseling psychology instructor with William James College’s, if you want to be happy, ditch the expectations and embrace imperfection.

"Instead of going for perfection, going for happiness and for creating traditions even if they have some kind of funky things going on in there," said Lopez."

Think about what are the three things today that I'm really grateful for, who are the three people that I'm really grateful for," Lopez added.

Zaft's advice for limiting the stress islearningto say 'no.'

"Telling people I'm doing as much as I can do, and being okay with that and not letting it guilttripyou," Zaft said.

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