PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Around the holidays, a popular meme began making its way around social media. 

Captioned “Actual footage of me just trying to make it to the end of the year,” it showed a runner stumbling as different scenarios flashed on the screen. 

Decorate. Buy everyone a gift. Go to all the holiday festivities. Remember your children’s dress-up days at school. Host family. Send cards. Be present. Stay healthy. 

By the time the phrase “literally make magic happen” flashes on the screen, the runner is on his hands and knees crawling toward the finish line as others pass him by.  

Sound familiar? 

While there’s no doubt pressure from the holidays can cause our anxiety to overload, there are methods to combat stress — at any time of year. It starts with identifying the factors that cause worry in the first place. 

“Stress can affect us differently as human beings — and anxiety as well,” says Dr. Alicia Kaplan, medical director for the Center for Adult Anxiety & OCD at Allegheny Health Network. “I think it’s really an individual strategy and response to feel better and to feel less stressed with the new year.” 

Kaplan points out stress can physically manifest itself in different ways; some examples are stomach pain, muscle tension, headaches and irritability. Part of conquering those symptoms is noting what triggers those reactions — such as lack of sleep, too much caffeine or alcohol — and cutting them out. 

“Some things we’re worrying over, and how we interpret things, it becomes automatic, so we don’t realize we’re doing it until we take time to kind of observe ourselves,” Kaplan adds. “Sometimes it starts with writing things down or asking yourself what was going through my mind right before I started feeling like this? What am I afraid of that could happen?” 

For things beyond our control, such as financial worries or the pressure of caring for a sick child or elderly parents, stress can be balanced out with self-care strategies, big and small. 

“It’s important for us to think about, for ourselves, what drains our energy and what gives us energy,” Kaplan says. “There’s something called an energy battery that we have and everybody’s is different.” 

Among the ways to recharge our energy batteries are reading a book or seeing a movie, exercise, taking a walk in nature or just talking to a trusted friend, Kaplan says.  

“Little therapeutic things that you can add to your day, or even relaxation strategies, are all things that can add to our energy when we’re feeling stressed or worried,” she says. 

Even just thinking about stress can cause it. Kaplan says people tend to engage in what’s called “catastrophic thinking,” where one’s thought patterns jump ahead to the worst-case scenarios. 

“And not only that, but we underestimate our ability to cope and adapt,” Kapland says. “So part of feeling better when we’re feeling stressed is coming up with different ways to think through things and change our thought patterns to have more realistic or adaptive thoughts.” 

Kaplan cautions that changing negative thought patterns doesn’t happen overnight. The important thing is to show yourself compassion, just like how you would treat a loved one going through a tough situation. 

“Often what we do is have people start writing things down, starting with the situation,” Kaplan says of treating patients. “What went through their head? Or what was their mood like when their anxiety started? Are they predicting catastrophes? Sometimes [addressing] it can be done by themselves, but sometimes it can be done with the therapist.”