Rytech Restoration knows that holiday season is a personal time of year--it can create stress as well as happiness. Those with damaged homes from an emergency event may find solace in the holidays, while others may feel sadness.
This is particularly true in places like Florida where, in 2022, two late season hurricanes, Ian and Nicole, struck the state.
Regardless of your circumstances, Team Rytech wishes you and your family all the very best during the holidays and offers tips for making the most of your holiday season, courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
There are many reasons the holidays cause stress, most related to over scheduling, over indulging, or over spending. But there are other reasons such as: spending too much time with family or not enough, personal or family illness, work demands or maybe sudden damage to your home from an unfortunate event.
No matter how you feel, or why, the following tips can help you enjoy the holidays as much as possible.
- Reflect on what is important to you during the holidays. This may change over time but thinking about what you want for this holiday season will help you choose more intentionally about who you would like to spend time with and how you would like to spend the time. It’s hard to have a meaningful holiday if you don’t determine ahead of time what will give it meaning.
- Make a plan as early as possible about what you will do during the holidays. Try to plan at least one activity that is important to you for each holiday that you celebrate. Feel free to initiate activities with family and friends. Consider volunteer activities. Making plan well in advance can give you something to look forward to and help you feel a greater sense of control.
- Communicate clearly how others can assist or support you. Accept offers to help shop, wrap or cook. Some people may not know how best to help, especially if your needs and desires have changed from last year. Most people are happy to help as long as they understand clearly what you want and they have enough time to provide the support.
- Realize the holiday season is a marathon, not a sprint. In other words, pace yourself. While extra social gatherings can be exciting, you don’t want to compromise your physical or mental health by doing too much. Acknowledge that you cannot do everything for everyone. Practice saying “no” without guilt. Allow yourself the opportunity to grieve the loss of giving up some activities.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Try your best to make good food choices and relax to restore energy. Your endurance will be better if you can stick to your daily routine as much as possible, including exercise.
- Manage your spending. It’s easy to feel the pressure of consumerism during the holidays. Decrease the financial stress by making and sticking to a budget. Thoughtfulness need not come with a hefty price tag. Gift solutions include reducing the number of gifts; initiating a gift exchange; giving to a favorite charity in family members’ names; and providing gift certificates for babysitting, snow shoveling, a home-cooked meal, or time together. Gift cards can also be purchased for small amounts and the receiver will enjoy thinking of you as he or she enjoys a cup of coffee or music download “on you.”
- Monitor alcohol and medications – individually and together. It’s easy to overindulge in alcohol during the holidays. Moderation is key so that your balance and emotional well being are not negatively impacted. If you do not usually drink alcohol, consider beforehand how alcohol and your medications may interact, especially if you’re taking a new medication or an increased dose. Maintain your daily medication schedule. Missed doses can cause you to feel less than your best or, worse, cause a medical issue that requires emergency care.
- Manage your expectations for family gatherings. When multiple generations and multiple families celebrate together, it can be challenging to feel heard and understood. Be clear about what you need the most and flexible about the rest.
- Think ahead about stories or observations from the past as a family that you’d like to share. You may know how a specific family tradition began or have a funny story to tell about the holidays when you were a child.
- Reflect on what went well this holiday season and improvements you would like to make for next year.
You Can Count On Rytech When It Matters Most!
Our Customer Promise:
- Fast 24/7 Emergency Service Every Day Of The Year:
Once you've spoken with a live Rytech
Restoration specialist about your emergency,
an IICRC certified technician will be at your
door in 4 hours or less. - Empathetic Approach To Customer Care:
Rytech's national contact center and exclusive centralized administration
ensure that customers can expect the same high-level customer
experience from state to state. We'll even work with your insurance, and
bill them direct. - Fair Estimates Based On Industry Standards And Pricing
Tools:
Rytech adheres to IICRC ANSI S500 Industry Guidelines. Industry
reports show Rytech is consistently priced less than competitors' quotes.
Rytech Restoration thanks Johns Hopkins Medicine for providing information in this article. Johns Hopkins integrates the operations and planning of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the Johns Hopkins Health System and Hospital. From basic to translational to clinical research, Johns Hopkins medical and graduate students, residents and fellows learn from and study with Nobel laureates, Lasker Award winners and National Academy of Science members.
