Many people feel there is not enough money to go around; others think there is not enough time in the day to get in all the activities. Talking about this on American Family Radio, Dr. Jessica Peck DNP, APRN said these pressures are not much different from what parents and grandparents have endured for generations.
"I think what I'm seeing now is a lot of stress, feeling like you have to keep up with the Joneses for Christmas – and social media really plays a big part of that," Dr. Peck added. "We have a lot of over-the-top displays of Christmas, and they are in our social media feed."
As a result, people feel a self-induced pressure to create unrealistic but "Instagrammable" holiday experiences.
"We know that our highlight reel of what we post on social media is just that; it's a highlight reel, but somehow we think that everybody else's highlight reel is their whole life, and that's just not the truth," the "Dr. Nurse Mamma" host stated. "Comparison is a thief of joy, and we have to make sure that we're not comparing our holiday experience to another family's and letting it steal our joy."
As for those who feel overcommitted this Christmas season, Dr. Peck recommends prayer for God's help through the situation and to look for ways next year to say no and cut back so that people can invest more time and energy into making memories with friends and family.
