#MerryStressmas 2nd Gift: 5 facts about Christmas spending (Part1/2)

2016-10-032016-10-201 Comment

What does Christmas impress you the most?

For me, it is the time when customers flood into Westfield during December to hunt for Christmas gifts, decorations, food and discounted items.

The most beautiful thing about Christmas is meeting friends and family, enjoying the fabulous time with them, or having a rest at the end of the year. But, since when has the Christmas gifts, Christmas shopping and spending become more important than the true meaning of Christmas? Since when has Christmas been lost to the so-called ‘Perfect Christmas’ under consumerism?

Christmas is no longer a time solely for celebrating, relaxing and enjoying when people usually feel increased pressure from the spending costs on shopping, choosing gifts, and celebrating. They increasingly experience anxiety and depression during this world-celebrating holiday.

There are five facts we should notice about the spending during Christmas

Fact 1: Christmas consumerism era

Christmas in nowadays, is not a matter of religious or holiday celebrations anymore. It is all about retailing and consuming. Different shops, retailers are fighting so hard to boost the sales during the holiday and promote the discounted items. With the abundance of attracting incentives, people are losing their minds on spending and consuming. People consequently spend extra money for Christmas gifts, boxing day sales, entertainment and food and etc. It is predicted $17.8 billion AUD will be spent during the Christmas month. According to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, Aussies planned to spend $1079 on average in the season while only 57% of people tried to set a budget.

Consumerism is everywhere and inescapable. We are losing the true spirit of Christmas holiday but falling into the financial spending trap.

Fact 2: Christmas financial stress

Over half of the respondents in Relationships Australia’s online survey in December, 2014 express that they are having financial pressures and concerns about Christmas and providing their families Christmas gifts. There are also over 30% people agree that they have different expectations around Christmas. 25 % of respondents have anxiety about how to pay for the Christmas food and gifts spending. Many families have not enough food to share and money to buy a presents at Christmas. The holidays become hugely stressful and difficult to them because they are lacking money and unable to meet the expectation.

Conversely, there is growing numbers of total Christmas bills and long-lasting Christmas financial hangover. People spend more money than they could afford despite the fact that they have a tight budget. They eventually undergo significant psychological stress and financial stress when they have serious financial difficulties and debt.

However, the problems are always underestimated or ignored. Sufferers are shy to seek help and discuss their difficulties. It results in a more serious psychological anxiety problem.

T.Y.

Sources:

ASIC 2015, Australia’s Christmas spending, https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money/budgeting/spending/australias-christmas-spending

Relationships Australia 2014, December 2014: Family Stress at Christmas time, http://www.relationships.org.au/what-we-do/research/online-survey/december-2014-family-stress-at-christmas-time

Browne, R 2015, ‘One-quarter of people fret about festive season expenses: Salvos study’, the Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December, http://www.smh.com.au/national/onequarter-of-people-fret-about-festive-season-expenses-salvos-study-20151203-gle9ba.html

#MerryStressmas Pre-Gift: Welcome to Merry Stressmas

2016-09-202016-10-081 Comment

What does Christmas mean to you?

How do you feel about and enjoy Christmas? Is it relaxing or stressful?

Is Christmas really ‘Merry’ to you?

“Christmas can be a very stressful time for many,”said cognitive behavioural therapy specialist at Flinders University, Dr Anthony Venning.[1]

The 25th-December-Holiday is probably the most exciting time of the year for many people who celebrate the holiday with their families, friends, Christmas gifts, food, and heaps of fun. Many people have, however, overlooked the psychological anxiety and depression problem relating to the festive season.

It is SAD but TRUE.

Maybe you could not believe this surprising fact but Christmas has actually been confirmed to be one of the great causes of stress. There are numerous surveys suggesting the seriousness of Christmas-related psychological problems.

Christmas climbs to the sixth most stressful life event
45% respondents reported their festive depression in America
61% respondents often feel stress while 68% often feel fatigue during holiday
~550,000 young people suffer depression or anxiety in Australia

When the public attribute Christmas to a time of joy and excitement, Christmas stress is always underestimated. It is a serious problem worth awareness because stress can be detrimental to health and well-being and lead to higher death rate.

There are various causes of Christmas stress:

Financial difficulties
Family/social tensions and conflicts
Poor eating and drinking habits
Gift-buying pressures
Christmas dinner preparing pressures
Time pressures
Loss of loved-one

Though is a holiday, Christmas brings busy time to people and interrupts their normal routine. From choosing the perfect gifts for everyone, designing recipe for Christmas dinner, decorating the house, to attending different parties, are the time-consuming and stressful tasks. Completing all these tasks get people suffering in the lack of sleep and stress or depression. Some people are also reminded the loss of their loved one during the happy festive time. They feel isolated and depressed more seriously of lacking the social network.

Out of different causes, spending for Christmas is the prime stress factor. Survey revealed 50% and 48% of respondents think Christmas stress comes with presents shopping and costs of Christmas respectively. Majority Christmas expenses go to buying gifts. People, especially those with financial difficulties, undergo significant financial stress. A more serious problem persists if patients are unnoticed and slow to seek treatment.

In order to help the suffers getting out of the difficulties as well as prevent people suffering from serious Christmas stress, especially financial stress, Merry Stressmas is a social campaign to raise people awareness of the problem. Merry Stressmas provides a platform for the sufferers to express their problem and seek help, and for the public to receive proper information. To take the stress out of Christmas, public can check out different ‘gift’ given by the campaign such as Christmas stress survival guide, activities information and relevant organisations.

Please subscribe the blog and like or comment the posts to share your ideas about Christmas stress. Also welcome to use #MerryStressmas for your corresponding posts and comments. Keep looking forward to our #Merrystressmas gift in the coming days.