While the festive season provides plenty of opportunities for people to catch up with family and friends it is also the time of year that can prove taxing for your mental and physical health.
The added stress of the end of year deadlines, family celebrations that remind you of past dysfunctions, increased alcohol consumption and the pressure to be cheery, can all take their toll. Whilst unrealistic expectations can also lead to disappointment and depression.
For small business owners who are already regularly putting in long hours and working intensely to meet business demands, the pressures of the holiday season can be high
Taking on too much can often be the catalyst for stress. With December being one of the busiest times of the year, both socially and workwise, it’s important to ensure you adopt a regime of self-care to minimise this stress.
According to the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study, Australians have one of the highest life expectancies in the world, which would seem like good news, except the study also found one in five Australians is struggling with a mental health issue or a substance abuse problem.
Of those, Aussie small business owners were some of the most at risk to be impacted by poor mental health. Research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Safe Work Australia also suggests the psychological health and safety (or the lack thereof) came at a cost of 6 billion per annum.
While a further study commissioned by the IPA identified the mental health and well-being of small business operators as a key issue.
IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway commented, “As we travelled around the country on our small business roadshow, the most profound finding was that of the declining rates of mental health among small business owners.
“Many small businesses and the accountants serving them divulged the significant stress and other pressures they were trying to combat on a daily basis.”
If all those stats aren’t enough to make you consider taking better care of yourself this holiday season there’s further fuel for the fire.
Research led by Josh Knight at the University of Melbourne analysed 25 years of mortality data and found that deaths around the holiday season increased by around 4% compared to the average for the rest of year.
So rather than become a statistic of the holiday season wouldn’t it be better to avoid sickmas this Christmas? Take stock of your health and mental health and take steps to avoid a wellbeing crisis this Christmas.
Clinical nutritionist and health and wellbeing expert Dr Vincent told Kochie’s Business Builders the importance of maintaining an exercise regime and eating healthily over the holidays.
“A lot of people work really hard in the lead up to Christmas at work and around the home trying to get things done and everything up to date, so they can go on leave and get the house ready for the family to arrive and they just end up making themselves sick,” Vincent said.
“As soon as you slow down, the body falls into a heap and you get sick. All the stress you have endured in the lead up to Christmas catches up with your body. While you are busy getting organised, the stress and fatigue on the body reduce your immune levels without you even realising it. When you relax, sickness hits. This is why so many people get colds and flu at Christmas time.
“Even worse, many people overeat and drink too much as well. On average, most Australians will put on at least one to two kilograms at Christmas time. This places additional pressure on the heart and other organs and this is why we see increases in heart attacks at Christmas time.”
Dr Vincent suggests there are five key tips to follow if you want to avoid sickness this holiday season.