Studies and Statistics Of Holiday Stress
According to a 2015 Healthline survey involving 2280 respondents, 44% of people say that they are stressed during the holidays, with more than 18% reporting that they’re “very stressed.” Only 10% feel no stress.
Almost half the respondents cited finances as the main culprit for their tension, while being over-scheduled, choosing the right gifts, and remaining healthy also contributed to people’s holiday miseries.
The American Psychological Association involving 786 adults, 369 men and 417 women (18 years or older), found that 38% of people say their stress increases during the holidays, and only 8% say they feel happier.
Employees are often contending with shortened deadlines, meeting expectations for the end of the fiscal year, and coping with stressed-out customers, which are just a few of the reasons for their increased anxiety.
Work stress is centred around the work-family balance during the holidays. During the holiday season, work remains the primary cause of stress for most people.
The majority (56%) feel that work is their greatest source of stress, versus 29% who feel the stress primarily comes from home.
Women feel more stressed during the holidays because of responsibilities at home. Many women struggle with the stress created by the double shift of work and family responsibilities. Women have different and additional demands during the holidays, especially during family celebrations.
Women are more likely than men to report that their stress increases during the holidays (44% vs 31% of men).
Women are more likely than men to feel stress from a lack of money (69% often/sometimes vs 55% of men) and pressure to give or get gifts (51% often/sometimes vs 42% of men).
There is also evidence that women are more likely than men to feel stress from a lack of time (69% often/sometimes vs 63% of men).
Men are more likely than women to permit themselves to relax during the holidays. While 41% of men strongly agree that they feel like they can relax during the holidays, only a quarter (27%) of women feel this way.
The researchers also determined that women most frequently turn to food for comfort (41%) and drinking as an escape (28%) to cope with stress.
Comfort eating increases during the holidays. Comfort eating increases among men and women, but it is more common among women. During the holidays, 41% of women agree that they eat for comfort compared with 25% of men.
CONCLUSION
Many individuals, especially women, experience more stress during the holidays and fall into comfort eating and drinking alcohol to cope with stress. Women need to be mindful that their responsibilities may have more stressful consequences than they realise. They are reacting to the stress in unhealthful ways, like eating and not permitting themselves to relax.
NEXT STEPS
Pay attention to what causes your stress and find healthy ways to manage it. Everyone responds to their stress in some way. The key is handling stress in a manner that doesn’t make things worse.
REFERENCES
American Psychological Association. (2006, December 12). APA survey shows holiday stress putting women’s health at risk [Press release]. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2006/12/women-stress
