CLEVELAND, Ohio — The holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, but they can also be overwhelming.
According to a new poll by the American Psychological Association, nearly nine in 10 people say concerns like not having enough money for gifts, missing loved ones and anticipating family conflict cause them stress this time of year.
Sheerli Ratner, a health clinical psychologist at MetroHealth, said women stress about 10 to 20% more than men during the holiday season.
"I think some of the main reasons are the gender differences in roles," said Ratner.
"Women tend to take on more of the primary role of organizing, planning, cooking, shopping, so there's a lot of demand."
Many women feel they need to get everything done, which can cause changes in sleeping patterns and dietary habits.
Those changes could lead to headaches, fatigue, depression and anxiety.
So how can we cope with holiday stress?
Ratner suggests writing down three things that you're thankful for every single night.
"You can control how much you cultivate an inner world that is positive," said Ratner.
"The earlier you start to cultivate that, you are guaranteed an increased level of success this year than at other years to beat that stress."
