A Healthy Holiday Season

It does seem that each year the holiday season comes faster than the year before. And with that, comes the stress of rushing to prepare for the family festivities, which the holiday centers around. With all of this hectic behavior, come accidents. As accidents are one of the biggest reasons why patients develop vertigo, dystonia, headaches, and other neurologic disorders, which eventually present to my office, this month I have decided to devote this article to prevention. With just a little forethought and pausing that extra minute before rushing to the next task at hand, you may actually be able to cross things off your to-do list and enjoy the holidays, safely, in the process. Remember to allow extra time when traveling in anticipation of traffic. If you do get a late start, or, get stuck in heavy traffic, remember that worrying will offer no reprieve of the situation and only present you with one more problem. Remember to only try to control those things that are within your realm to control, and to let go of those things that are not. Try to be more pleasant in crowded stores rather than irritable, as this just raises you blood pressure and stresses your adrenals unnecessarily thus making an accident more likely by decreasing judgment and response time when you need it most. All of this undue stress leads to a myriad of health issues as well, all of which can be averted by not stressing over things that you cannot change in the first place. Be compassionate to those less fortunate then yourself. Adopt a tradition of giving to your favorite charity, as the benefits to your spirit are immeasurable. Always hold doors open for the elderly. If you are young and healthy, park further away leaving the close spots for the elderly and those less healthy. Needless to say, do not operate a vehicle after alcohol consumption. If you do not have a designated driver, stick with nonalcoholic beverages. Only eat half your dessert, as you will likely have twice as many deserts over the season. Remember Linus from Charlie Brown who extolled the true meaning of the season is spending time with family and friends, not commercialism. And most importantly, leave a dish of cut vegetables out on Christmas Eve for Santa as too many cookies could lead to premat