CMR Canada
Employee and Family
Assistance Programs
Serving Canadians for 21 Years
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CMR Canada
Employee and Family
Assistance Programs
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CMR Canada - Employee and Family Assistance Programs Head Office: Suite 600, Bow Valley Square 4, 250 - 6 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P3H7 Telephone (403) 263-2200 Fax (403) 256-8291 E-mail: cmr@cmrcanada.ca December 1998
Merry Stressmas
Crowded bustling malls, repeated trips to the airport to fetch long lost relatives and the constant shuffling of cookies and turkey out of your oven translate into one reaction: stress. Christmas may be the season of love and celebration, but sometimes holiday festivities can become overwhelming.
Once you've identified some of your Christmas Pressures learn how to cope with them by understanding why these strains occur during the holidays. According to The Children's Society, some families' stress stems from trying to keep up with the Jones's. For others, it's mom who shoulders the majority of the burden. This extra workload can leave moms feeling overwhelmed. Dr Mark Lau, of the Toronto-based Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, says that moms often end up doing a tremendous number of chores during Christmas. This excess work, and the struggle to please everyone, can leave them feeling isolated from their families. For many of these moms, the key to a merry Christmas is measured against their ability to maintain control. According to Dr. Lau, this control eventually involves breaking holiday activities into manageable chunks. "Everyone, but especially mothers, must choose between what they need to and have to do," says Lau. But sometimes managing and delegating chores isn't as easy as it should be, and mom's struggle for perfection takes its toll. Susan Huckstein, a teacher at the Center for Addiction Research in Pittsburgh, says that moms have to learn how to say no and share their workload. "Make mundane chores part of the program. Involve children and elderly relatives in baking cookies and gift wrapping," says Huckstein. But moms are not the only ones who suffer at Christmas. Children may love the excitement of trimming the tree and writing their wish lists, but all of this anticipation disrupts their lives. Holiday Stress can impact your child's behavior. Tom McPherson, an intake co-ordinator for a U.S. Pediatric Psychology Department, says that kids react to the seasonal pressure in one of two ways. "They'll either act up or down," says McPherson. "They'll start getting into trouble or they'll do things to get affection." He says that these reactions can be controlled by informing your kids about changes in their daily routine and surrounding them with familiar things, like their favorite teddy bear. In the end, almost every family member may want to follow this valuable advice for trimming yourself of stress:
For more information on reducing Christmas stress, consult these Healthy Way links: Stress Management for Patients and Physicians
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CMR Canada PROFILE CMR Canada, a national EFAP management firm founded in Alberta in 1990, delivers programs and services that enhance the health and performance capability of individuals and organizations. The firm delivers services to individuals plus their families in organizations located throughout Alberta - Municipal Governments, Hospitals, Unions, Universities, and Corporations and the General Public. Interventions, the EFAP Journal of CMR Canada, is available to clients without cost. CMR's organization is simple, efficient, and highly effective leaving the majority of resources, financial and human, to provide service to clients and their families. The firm has extensive experience in designing, implementing, resourcing, evaluating, and managing Assistance Programs. CMR has an unlimited supply of qualified professionals to engage as needed. Professionals are partnered or on contract to CMR. Included are Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Family Therapists, Crisis Counsellors, Career Counsellors, and Certified Human Resource Professionals. Working principles: keep the business small; deliver extraordinary personal service; keep the costs low. This highly efficient and effective business model allows CMR to deliver high quality programs and services at lower cost with increased accountability - and select the most experienced and capable professionals. To request more information or a counsellor, click on Request for Service CMR Canada - Employee and Family Assistance Programs Head Office Suite 3500, Bow Valley Square 2 205 - 5 Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2P2V7 Telephone (403)263-2200 in Calgary, or 1-800-567-9953 from elsewhere Fax (403)256-8291 E-Mail: CMR Canada Alberta Locations Athabasca, Barrhead, Calgary, Camrose, Drayton Valley, Edmonton, Edson, Fort McMurray, High Prairie, Hinton, Jasper, Grande Prairie, Lac La Biche, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Peace River, Pincher Creek, Red Deer, St. Paul , Wainwright Interventions is a copyright publication of CMR Canada - Employee and Family Assistance Programs
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Take
the time to evaluate how the season is treating you by assessing
your stress levels in the Canadian Mental Health Association's Stress
Index. Questions such as: "Are you neglecting your diet?"
and "Do you have reduced support from relatives?" will
help pinpoint some of your key stressors. 
