The weddingalso known as links, marriages, marriages or nuptialsWithout a doubt, they can be very stressful for brides and grooms. In addition, after the pandemic and with the end of the restrictions, they have been celebrated again and in style.
This blog entry aims to teach you to recognize when wedding stress is no longer healthy and also aims to give you some tips to manage anxiety and the different problematic situations that can arise both on the appointed day and on the preparation time.
You also have the information in the following video:
Is wedding stress normal? How to identify anxiety?
A wedding can be a great source of stress and can be considered as a stressful life event. After all, marriage has important legal implications. Also, in the previous months you have to prepare many things related to the event. It is the latter that usually generates “nerves” or “stress”.
Thinking about which people to invite, choosing the day and the place, sending the invitations, thinking about the menu, the wedding trip, preparing all the necessary paperwork for the wedding, etc. They can be different sources of stress. Therefore, we could conclude that wedding stress can be something normal and that practically all couples experience at some point in the process.
It is true that if this stress becomes anxiety it can become dangerous. Remember that stress is a reaction, generally physical, of our body to a specific stimulus that, in this case, is the wedding. Anxiety goes further and involves physical and cognitive symptoms, such as obsessive thoughts, pessimism, irritability, etc.
Therefore, if you are suffering from any of these symptoms you should pay attention:
- Irritability. If you are more irritable than normal and you feel that everything around you bothers you.
- Sleeping problems. Having in mind what is related to your wedding can make it difficult for you both to fall asleep and to maintain a quality floor. In other words, you could have trouble falling asleep, trouble maintaining quality sleep, or waking up at night.
- obsessive thoughts Negative thoughts may appear in your mind recurrently, intrusively and spontaneously. We usually call these thoughts “obsessive thoughts” and they can occupy a large part of the day and cause us a lot of discomfort.
- Exhaustion. It could be the case that you spend the day organizing things for the wedding and this, added to the obligations you already had, could become exhausting.
- Social isolation. This happens if, by organizing topics related to the link, you leave out social gatherings.
- You feel that you have little decision-making power. People talk and give their opinions and it could be the case that they have to listen to the opinions of different people.
Likewise, you could present other symptoms related to anxiety such as: tachycardia, sweating or chills, upset stomach, dizziness, feeling short of breath, etc.
What can I do to manage the anxiety that the wedding produces?
Next, we are going to discuss some guidelines, advice or tips to be able to manage pre-marriage anxiety:
Restructure your thoughts.
Many times boyfriends and girlfriends have a high level of self-demand and a need for control. This makes you try to please everyone, try to have everything under control, etc. If you have these kinds of thoughts, think that you are not obliged to please all the guests and that you cannot have everything under control.
There are external factors that, although we would like to, we cannot control. It is very important to keep this in mind so as not to feel frustrated. If these factors that you cannot control dominate your thoughts, try to restructure them to have slightly healthier thoughts.
Have good sleep hygiene.
Rest is always essential. In these moments in which, perhaps, it is more difficult for you to sleep, it is important that you have a correct sleep hygiene. As we discussed in the article “sleep hygiene guidelines for insomnia” it is important to have fixed schedules, use the bed only to sleep, not use electronic devices while we are in bed, etc.
Take time for self-care.
With the preparations for the wedding, we often forget about our own needs and care. It’s great that you worry that everything goes well that day, but let’s not forget that you have to get to that day. To do this, try to take care of yourself, pamper yourself and pamper yourself. Try not to put aside those activities that give you satisfaction.
Reduce the levels of demand and perfectionism.
As we have commented in the first point, high demand levels and wanting everything to be perfect can lead us to disaster. After all, perfectionism causes anxiety, and anxiety can make us unproductive. We recommend that you follow some guidelines to manage perfectionism, such as: prioritize, do not overplan, think that setbacks are part of the process, etc.
Get on with your social life.
Many times, when we don’t get to everything, the first thing we suppress is the social part. However, we are social beings and eliminating this part can cause us a lot of discomfort. Even if you reduce how often you see your friends, try to continue meeting them and make leisure plans.
Be assertive
When it comes to weddings there are many people who try to give their opinion, even if they are not asked. If someone gives you an opinion that you didn’t ask for, be assertive and tell them that you appreciate the opinion, but that you already have it organized. Keep in mind that that day the protagonists are you and your partner and that it is the others who have to adapt to you.
Delegate.
In the event that you do not reach everything, try to prioritize and delegate to other people. In this way you can have more time for yourself and for your self-care. What’s more, those people will surely be happy to help you.
Practice relaxation techniques.
In addition to all of the above, it would be nice if you practice a correct routine of breathing and relaxation techniques in order to keep anxiety levels in an optimal state.
conclusions
Weddings can be a huge source of stress. After all, they are very important for the contracting couple and in many cases they become a great event, with all the implications that this has. If you think that you are having more stress than normal, try to follow the guidelines that we have discussed. In the event that this anxiety continues and is preventing you from enjoying the moment, we recommend that you contact a mental health professional. At PsicoGlobal, pioneers in online therapy, we can help you so that the anxiety of the preparations does not dominate your big day.
