Illustration: Christmas—Holiday Stress

The Business Section of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had a headline: "Holiday Stress Worse than Ever: You Don't Have Time to Read This." I thought, "I don't," but I did read it. Consider some of the statements from that article:

• More than 20 percent of Americans say they're worried the holidays will adversely affect their health.
• Nearly seven in 10 workers said that managing workplace commitments in order to take time off during the holidays is stressful.
• At least 2.5 million working parents are stressed out about after-school care issues.

"The picture of the happy family sitting around a fireplace enjoying eggnog and each other is totally bunk," notes psychologist Ken Siegel. (Tammy Joyner, "You Don't Have Time to Read This," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 16, 2006)