The Holidays are the most stressful time of the year.  You may experience one or more to the following: holiday anxiety and stress, seasonal depression, colds and flu, and financial stress. My suggestion: let’s hug!

Are you a hugging person? Actually it doesn’t matter, because if hugging is a challenge for you, it may be even better – we all need challenges from time to time, am I right?

So give hugs to people you love and people you know, and maybe even people you don’t.

I would like to share with you an excerpt from an article about hug therapy stress relief by Michael Clutton.

Hugs are good for any occasion: birthdays, holidays, greetings, good byes or sometimes just because you want to. When you get a hug, you feel warm, fuzzy and complete.  The hug of another person expresses a certain feeling of union and caring.  They’re a friendly way to express appreciation of another person.

There are group hugs, tender lover hugs, around the waist hugs, kissing hugs, sweet and tender hugs and yes, even the grab-ass hug.  There is the awkward “lean in” for the timid and the breathtaking squeeze-you-till-your-eyes-pop hug.

As a stress relief tool, hugging can help us boost our immune system, fight  colds and flu, increase our energy level and avoid seasonal depression.

Let us hug, breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health and Nutrition Counselor and Coach

My son sent me this article a few days ago “Ten ways to beat stress in 10 minutes or less” by Alison Kotch.  I would like to share some of the stress remedies and tips from the article because they are a valuable addition to my Six Instant Mood Boosters.

Garlic Sex and Swearing as a Stress Remedy

Take One second to Swear

Researchers at England’s University of East Anglia Norwich looked into leadership styles and found that using swear words can reduce stress. Good luck, #!$*&^*@!

Take Five seconds to Pop fish oil

According to research, people with the highest blood levels of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids are happier and more agreeable. Try a supplement of 400 milligrams each of EPA and DHA fish oils

Take 30 seconds to Know your hoku

Acupressure is a tension releaser, according to researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University who found it can reduce stress up to 39 percent. For fast relief, massage your hoku (the fleshy part between the thumb and index finger) for 20 to 30 seconds.

Take 30 seconds to Sit back

Forget what you’ve been told about sitting up straight to relieve tension in your back. Researchers in Canada found that leaning back at a 135-degree angle is the best sitting position for reducing back pain.

Take One minute to Add garlic

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham believe they’ve figured out why garlic is good for heart health, and their finding implies it’s a powerful stress buster too. When you digest garlic’s main ingredient, organosulfur allicin, your body produces hydrogen sulfide, which relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow.

Take Five minutes and Take a YouTube timeout

Just the anticipation of laughing decreases the stress hormones dopac, cortisol, and epinephrine by 38, 39, and 70 percent, respectively, according to researchers at LomaLindaUniversity in California. And when researchers at the University of Maryland showed short movie clips to study participants, those who watched funny films experienced a 22 percent increase in blood flow to their hearts.

Take 10 minutes and Just do it

Kissing or hugging your wife can reduce stress because it raises levels of oxytocin, the hormone associated with bonding and love, say researchers at the University of Carolina. And a Scottish researcher found that having sex regularly lowers anxiety, stress, and blood pressure.

Of course, we always have to remember to breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Counselor and Health Coach