Holly Heck

Deadlines, bills and Christmas have replaced savage beasts as our main sources of stress.

- Marc Wilson

Tis the season to be jolly stressed, falalala, etc. ’Tis not just me that thinks this. Based on an analysis of large-scale surveys conducted in Europe, professor Michael Mutz, formerly of the University of Göttingen in Germany, has confirmed that emotional well-being and life satisfaction decline around Christmas (unless you’re strongly Christian, in which case you truck on through with nary a dip – or spike – in life satisfaction).

Mutz argues this dip reflects the Christmas-related pressures on time, social obligations and money, on top of the pressures we deal with all the time. In Germany, Mutz notes, more than a quarter of all Christmas gifts are purchased in the two weeks leading up to the big day. So, if you’ve got a big family …

Feeling stressed is the experience we have when our ability to cope is exceeded by the things we have to cope with. You know what it feels like – heart racing, gurgling tummy, hypervigilance, among other things.