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November 25, 2025 15 mins
On the next episode of Keeping Ashland Healthy, we’re talking about something a lot of us feel this time of year: Holiday stress. David shares ten simple, practical ways to slow down, set healthy boundaries, stay connected, and keep your routines steady—so the season feels lighter and more manageable. And if the holidays bring up heavier emotions, we’ll talk about how to navigate those too, and where to turn for support. Join us for helpful tips to make this season a little calmer and a lot healthier. Contact the Board at 419-281-3139.

(Record Date: November 19, 2025)
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome.

Speaker 1 (00:04):
You're listening to the Keeping Ashland Healthy Podcast, a podcast
production of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County, Ohio.
Thanks for joining us, and welcome back to another episode
of the Keeping Ashland Healthy Podcast. My name is David Ross.
I'm the executive director of the.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Mental Health and Recovery Board here in Ashton County, Ohio,
and this is a special episode, one that I like
to do every year. Well you know what that sound means.
It's time for the holidays, and today we're talking about
something almost everyone feels this time of year, holiday stress.

(00:38):
This episode, we will try to think about all the
holidays that occur here. I'm recording mid November through the
first of the year. There are several obviously the big
ones Turkey Day, yes, and the Christmas in New Year's
Eve New Year's Day. So you know, as we've talked

(01:00):
about in previous years, I like to update this every
year just with the newest research and what I've heard
from folks. This season definitely brings a lot of joy
for folks, but there's also pressures, expectations, memories, let's be honest,
some good, some bad, some in between. And I think
what I hear more and more from year to year

(01:22):
is the pace. And what I mean by that is
just everything seems compressed and rushed, and it's so hard, David.
People tell me to enjoy the holiday because I'm rushing
from here to there, whether that's making food, taking food,
going to gatherings, all good things, buying presents and things.
But it seems so rush, rush, rush, So the pace

(01:44):
can wear us down as well. So to that end,
I am here to help you with the holiday stress.
So today's episode, we will try to incorporate some of
these ten things that I'm talking about in one of
our newsletters that will make available. We like to do
this every year, but I've got ten things. There could

(02:05):
be more, but these are at least ten things I'd
like you to consider see if it fits for you.
It may not fit for you, or maybe a couple
will fit. I hope at least a couple of these
will will fit and help you to have just a
wonderful holiday season this year. So I mentioned pay so first,
slow down your pace, so again, starting with something small,

(02:29):
pause long enough to take three slow, slow, deep breasts.
It's amazing how often that one step can reset your
entire system. So if you're like me and you find
yourself in the middle of the DJMax you're feeling overwhelmed,
t take a beat, to take a breath and slow
down and restart if you will. And it is amazing

(02:50):
how just resetting like that can help your entire system relax.
Keep your routines anchored. Number two, Keep your routines anchored.
So sleep, meals, medications, if you're taking some movement, exercise,
all of these things matter. So when I travel, this

(03:12):
is the thing I've tried to do, I've learned to
do over the years, is that I need to keep
my routines as similar as when I'm home as possible
when I'm traveling or visiting. If I don't, I get
out of sorts. So think about this, even though things
are going to be hectic in the places, try to
make sure that you're not radically changing your sleep, that

(03:33):
you're not all of a sudden eating meals that you
never eat. Of course, you know, some meals make some
sense to have. Maybe some things that you only have
this time of year for most of us, pumpkin pies
and something we have all the time. You know that cranberry.
You know in the can. I don't know. We don't
eat that anyhow, we just look at it. It's just
for decoration. But anyway, medications, obviously, this is not the

(03:56):
time to start making radical changes to the medications you're taking.
And movement exercise. If you have a healthy exercise routine,
walk in, waitlifted, et cetera, keep it up during the
holiday season. Don't say oh, I'll just skip all this
and then restart January a second. Don't do that. I'm
telling you that, audience. Don't do that. Keep your routines anchored.

(04:18):
Number two, all right. Number three, set simple boundaries. You
don't have to say yes to everything. Okay, you can
still nicely say oh, I've got so much going on.
I wish I could do that, but I just can't
do that today. But thank you so much for thinking
of me or asking me it's okay, or maybe you
do that, but you could say, hey, look i'd love
to dose that. Keep in mind, I can only stay

(04:38):
a half hour, or I can only say an hour,
you know, limiting if you feel like you really can
make the time, but you need to set a limit
on it, do that, But just be upfront with the
individual or individuals asking. So that's fine to do. Set
those simple boundaries, because if you do not, you can
understand how this relates to the pace we talked about earlier,

(04:59):
and you're inability to keep your routines if you're overwhelmed
with the amount of things that you're doing because you
didn't set the simple boundaries. Number three. Set simple boundaries.
Reduce the noise number four. So find a way to
step outside for a few minutes, turn off notifications on
your phones or devices, find a quieter room, even within

(05:20):
a large gathering, even short breaks help calm the nervous system.
Most of you know me, no wife, no kids, so
I have a very little noise in my life. And
guess what audience, boy, I like that. See, oh that's
the Christmas sound. I like the lack of noise. So
for me, I'm particularly sensitive if I'm in a very

(05:42):
crowded place where there's a lot of conversation, a lot
of noise. I need to step out occasionally for a break,
just need it. Same thing with if you're one of
these very social people. I am not, but if you
are a very social person that's getting their phones blowing
up all the time, you know you may want to
silence those notifications. I do that occasionally when I seem

(06:04):
to get a lot of notifications around certain times of
the year, and that just you know, sometimes that sound
of the notification, even if you have a pleasant sound
for your phone notification, when you keep hearing it go
off ding ding ding, it could actually increase your anxiety.
So either turning it off or just muting it or
turning it down, So reduce the noise. Number four, all right,

(06:27):
Number five, Practice one thing gratitude. This is what I
mean by that, each day, identify one thing, just one
that went well. Okay, each day, identify one thing that
just one that went well, because gratitude interrupts the stress
cycle and shifts the tone of your day. Doctor Ashley

(06:49):
and I when we were doing the program together, we
did a whole episode on the importance of gratitude, and
this is one of many things that it does. But
it does interrupt the stress cycle because it gets your
brain in a different place when you're thinking about remembering
things that went well that you're grateful for. So practice
one thing gratitude. All right. If you want to be
grateful for more than one thing, and you probably should be,

(07:11):
feel free to do that, but wanted to be realistic
with these things. I'm suggesting to you all, all right,
number six, Number six, stay connected, So reach out to
someone you trust. A short conversation with a supportive person
can lower stress more than most people realize. So it
might feel like, well, David, staying connected isn't a problem

(07:31):
this time of the year, but for some people it is.
You know, sometimes friends and family have moved away, kids
have grown up, they've got their own families, YadA, YadA, YadA.
There are a lot more disconnected people than you might imagine,
whether that's in your church, your family. So look around
for those folks and try to stay connected with them.
But if you're the person that maybe is isolated, I

(07:53):
would encourage you please stay connected. That could be a
phone call, better yet in person, certainly over the own
face time. Some of the devices now it's pretty easy
to do a FaceTime with somebody, but stay connected. You know,
folks that are isolated are at risk. We've talked about
that on various programs over the years. Folks that are
isolated are far more at risk for all kinds of

(08:16):
mental health, emotional challenges. And okay, stay connected this holiday season.
Number seven, move your body. I talked about keeping the
routines anchored, and if one of your routines is exercise
and movement, this is critical. So move your body. Short, walk, stretching,
even a few minutes of light movement can help reduce
tension and clear your mind. And again, depending on the weather,

(08:38):
maybe you have to figure out that activity in the house,
but if the weather allows for it, I really encourage
you to get the sunlight. That helps in addition to
the actual movement, just being out in the sunlight. The
science is pretty clear on that it really helps our system.
So move your body during this holiday season. Now, due
to the numbing effects of trip to thin and chicken

(09:01):
and turkey, you may not move quickly after your your
big turkey dinner, but within a short period of time,
try to move so that you might be able to
burn off some of that stuffing and turkey. Number eight.
Watch your alcohol and sugar content, so both of these
can disrupt sleep and mood. Again, moderation, moderation, moderation, So

(09:25):
as long as you're you're mindful of how much alcohol
sugar that you're taking in, that will go a long
way and helping your mind stay clearer and calmer. It
is easy. And again I'm jealous as skilty of this.
You know. I go from the pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie. Oh,
pecan too, Sure, I'll have a slice. And next thing,
you know, I've had way to watch sugar, way more

(09:49):
than I normally do. Not good. And then yeah, somebody,
oh here, uncle David, here's some beer I bought you.
So anyway, watch your alcohol in sugar content. Again, David
is not saying zero, I'm just saying moderation when it
comes to alcohol and sugar consumption at this holiday season.
Number nine. I can't believe we're number nine already. Oh

(10:12):
the Christmas both give yourself permission to feel well. What
do you mean by that, you counselor well? The holidays
can stir up a lot of memories. I talked about
that earlier, grief, loneliness, old memories, feelings. Feeling those emotions
doesn't mean something that's wrong. It means you're human. So,
you know, if your family is anything like mine, I

(10:34):
hope it's not. But if it's anything like mine, there
are strained relationships, right, It's complicated. Some people just do
not come, you know, for the holiday season, and that
can cast some upset and hurt and anxiety for some
of the other family members. So it's okay to talk
about that and to feel that doesn't mean anything's wrong.

(10:57):
Human beings are complex. I've been doing you know, the
Keeping Asking podcast for a couple of years now. We've
mentioned this many times, but it is true, audience. We're
all human, we all have complex things going on in
our lives, and relationships wax and wane over time. They
get stronger and sometimes they get more distant. Sometimes the
reasons are good, sometimes they're not. But it is a reality.

(11:18):
So it's okay to be sad that maybe somebody that
you really wanted to be at a Thanksgiving dinner or
you know, Christmas Eve celebration isn't there and you don't
understand the reason why. You know, that's okay to talk
about that, and I would encourage you to talk about
that with somebody else that you trust and care about.
It's okay to acknowledge that, because that's just being human.

(11:39):
What I'm not encouraging is for you to stuff it
in your soaking. That's not good, okay, So talk about that.
Don't stuff all these things like the Turkey okay, number ten,
Number ten, ask for help early. So even if you
followed one or more of these nine suggestions, uh, things

(12:02):
might become overwhelming during the holiday season. I am encouraging
you to reach out. Most of you know, we talk
about all the time. It's in our bumper music that
we have a local twenty four to seven crisis helpline.
It's four one nine two eight nine six one one one.
They understand this season, They've had training, they get it,
they understand everything I just said in this holiday stress.

(12:25):
So if you were to call them, uh, you're gonna
get a local person. They're gonna help, maybe give you
some ideas or suggestions. And you know, if something more
serious needs to happen, if you need more of a
formal assessment, they'll arrange for that to happen. So it
doesn't have to be our local twenty four to seven
crisis number. You might just need to talk to a
friend for help. Maybe it's your your pastor at your church,

(12:48):
someone you trust. And if you don't remember our four
one nine eight nine six one one one number, you
might remember nine eight eight. So that's the national crisis
helpline number. So uh, I just My point here is
if you do feel like you're starting to get overwhelmed
and upset, ask for help early. Don't don't wait, you know,

(13:08):
don't don't be worried that. Oh, I don't want to
ruin anybody's holiday, You're not. What that person wants is
for you to be doing as best as you can.
And if they can be part of helping that, I
think they'll be grateful. And we talked about gratitude earlier.
So just keep in mind, you know, the holidays, they
don't need to be perfect to be meaningful. Okay, I'll

(13:30):
say that again. The holidays don't need to be perfect
to be meaningful. And here's a tip. They're not going
to be perfect. Okay, it is not going to be perfect.
It doesn't exist. So and that's okay. They're still going
to be very meaningful. So I want you to again
this holiday season to take care of yourself, you know,
take care of the things one step at a time.

(13:52):
Don't try to take it all on at the same time.
It can be very overwhelming. Give yourself the same kind
of kindness that you offer to others, and think about
these these ten things that might be a little bit
helpful if you are starting to experience some holiday stress,
so uh again. I I'll do a few episodes, you know,

(14:14):
before the end of the year. But let me just
say at the end of this one that I hope
all of you have a wonderful, stress free, happy, joyful,
connected holiday season. Thank you, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
For listening to another episode of the Keeping Ashline Healthy podcast.
The podcast is a production of the Mental Health and
Recovery Board of Ashland County, Ohio. You can reach the
Board by calling four one nine two eight one three
one three nine. Please remember that the Board funds a
local twenty four to seven crisis line through Apples Community
Mental Health Center. It can be reached by calling four
one nine two eight nine six one one one. That's

(14:50):
four one nine two eight nine six one one one.
Until next time, Please join us in keeping Ashland Healthy.
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