So, made it through Christmas remarkably well--except that I had this weird thing going on with my voice: every time I talked, it was sort of a sqwak...It's what happens to me when I am having trouble talking at all (as in, very, very nervous). I nodded a lot, let my eyes shift away from speakers who were talking to more people than me. It looked like I was listening, and it was polite.

But I did manage to work on complimenting everyone there (only 6 other people, not that hard).

And I limited my escapes to the bathroom to two in three hours. (NORMAL, right?) In the bathroom, I splashed my face with cold water, then held my earlobes with cold fingertips and put cold water behind my ears--instant relief. Anyone else ever try that?

On the drive home, I named the things for myself that I had done well, that had gone well.

Yesterday was a laze around for everyone day. Today, I've arranged a day when the kids are gone all day until 5:00, while my husband does some paperwork that he brought home. He'll be upstairs all morning, I'll be down. I'm pretty wound up, and getting a little snappy.

Any other strategies to help control anxiety through the rest of the holidays--and at the social gatherings?