Although it’s supposed to be fabulous, fun and family-orientated, the festive season can turn feisty and with the nation set to feel the pinch amid the strains of an economic downturn, Christmas 2008 could be more stressful than ever.

However, Josephine O’Gorman, Senior Lecturer Health & Social Care at the University of Greenwich at Medway, claims stress can be a positive experience and indulgence is a great way to cope at Christmas:

"Surveys show that Christmas comes second only to financial problems at the top of everyone’s stress list.

"Routines are disrupted, diets forgotten, digestions thrown out of kilter. Most significantly, anxiety and excitement build up on all levels.

"Chronic stress, severe or prolonged, can lead to all manner of ills, to exhaustion, depletion and finally to disease.

"It reduces our ability to cope, undermines our confidence and destroys our

sense of well being.

"But some stress can actually be good for you? In my role as a lecturer on stress management, I concentrate a great deal on the positive aspects of stress.

"It is a natural and necessary component for leading a full and happy life.

"Stress gets the adrenaline flowing, quickens the mind, energises the body and helps us get on with life productively. With understanding and wisdom, we can even learn to see stress as something of a friend.

"I don’t seek to underplay the distress that some people feel at this time but in order to empower oneself, try seeing Christmas instead of a threat as a welcome challenge, an opportunity to put those tensions and pressures to good use.

"While there are some things that we can’t change, one thing we can control is how we react. It may sound trivial, but what we believe influences how we feel.

"There are many journals and web sites that list excellent stress-busting tips at this time of year.

"They include time management, good communication, assertiveness and budgeting.

"These are all necessary but generally there is no one remedy that fits all; it depends so much on our physical, psychological and social circumstances. "There is however, some general advice, which is just perfect: I recommend that you laugh, sing,

dance, sleep and eat well.

"Laughing causes deep abdominal breathing, increases circulation, releases endorphins, relieves tension, puts life into perspective and, what is very interesting, the brain responds to the laughter, not recognising the difference between false and real laughter.

"Singing and music has been found to reduce heart rates and to promote higher

body temperature and the onset of relaxation.

"Singing also incorporates relaxing sounds and deep breathing. This is one of the most important stress-busting tips of all.

"We, as adults, tend to shallow-breathe using just the top half of the chest, which makes us more tense and also tired.

"When you are stressed you are more likely to shallow-breathe, which can actually increase feelings of stress.

"By breathing with your diaphragm, you will not only be signaling to your body that you are less stressed, but you will also be circulating more oxygen around your body and mind.

"This will give you more energy, allow the feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain to do their job efficiently and also activate the relaxation centres in the brain. The old advice of taking three deep breaths is still good.

"Dancing, movement and exercise help to release endorphins, making us feel happier, more alert and calm.

"Studies show that exercise can reduce the impact of stress, raise self-esteem, relieve anxiety and depression and improve mood.

"Exercise doesn’t have to be a five-mile run: it can be as simple as dancing at home to music you enjoy and singing at the same time.

"Sleep and stress are inversely related. The less sleep you get, the more difficulty you will find in adapting to challenging situations; the more sleep you have, the less stressful everyday pressures seem.

"Without sleep, cortisol levels, the stress hormone, stay up too high and for too long.

"As you eat or drink, your blood sugar goes up and insulin is released. If you are eating refined foods like sugar, white bread, cakes and biscuits or stimulant drinks like coffee, tea or cola, they will hit your bloodstream quickly.

"More insulin will be released to deal with this sudden rise in blood sugar. Once dealt with, the blood sugar levels will drop but because you’ve triggered the release of so much insulin, the levels will drop too low and you’ll soon feel hungry again.

"The best way to get the message to your body that it is not under stress so that it produces less adrenaline and also less cortisol, is to control your blood sugar levels. Eat little and often, don’t skip breakfast.

"Reduce sugar and refined carbohydrates (with a view to eliminating them after Christmas) and change the way in which you think about food.

"Encouragingly, the solutions for dealing with our stress levels are often close at hand.

"In the words of Crimean War nurse Mary Seacole, who embraced a challenging life and promoted a holistic approach to health, “So true is it that beside the nettle ever grows the cure for its sting."

•Josephine is an advanced practitioner working with trauma and stress

resolution and senior lecturer in stress management at the University of Greenwich at Medway.