Here we go again, Christmas carols, office parties, folks talking about what they are going to buy for friends and the you better be nice and not naughty or you will not be getting anything from Santa Clause this Christmas!
From some of us though Christmas time represents something that lonely and depressing. I am looking at the chair where she would sit and we would chat for hours especially at this time of the year. She loved carols, she enjoyed shopping for presents, however our relationship was never all that.
I will share with you what I did at Christmas time:
- Spend time with people, especially positive ones who lift your spirits. Perhaps you’ll be grateful for their cheer.
- Exercise regularly. Blood pumping can help clear your mind. A big shout out to my step aerobics friends.
- Eat right. Chocoholics beware. Overindulgence can mean temporary highs followed by disappointing flab.
- Lights on! Enjoy sunlight, outdoors if possible. Brighten up your home and workplace. Light therapy sometimes helps SAD.
- Budget your gift spending and stick with your budget. Prevent January bill shock.
- Talk about your feelings. Keeping them bottled up can mean anxiety, ulcers, sour disposition, and/or explosion. Need a trusted, listening friend? Try a local church.
- Give to others. Volunteer. Medical professor Stephen Post, PhD, is convinced that giving is essential for optimum physical and mental health in our fragmented society. He says some California physicians give volunteerism “prescriptions” to their Medicare patients.5
- Seek counsel. I used to be embarrassed to obtain professional counsel. Now I recommend it. We all can use good advice navigating life’s storms.
- Develop spiritual roots. I’m glad that before my dark days began, I had a friendship with God.
This just about covers everything…
I am really not sure you can cover all the emotions because for different persons there are a number of things that will trigger the feeling of being down at Christmas time.
Just remember despite all the commercial and Christmas parties, food and activities, after a couple days things will come right back to normal, so if this is your first time relax, you got this.
Christmas time
What is Christmas? I decided to look it up and “Christmas day and the days and weeks before it”. This was a definition I found in one of our more famous dictionaries, nothing about the birth of Christ. No wonder why persons are so depress at the end of the year when they are lonely. We are still not sure what is the point of all this hype.