I’m sure you’ve heard people complaining that “Christmas starts earlier and earlier”. It does seem to start sometime around August lately. If you love Christmas and everything that goes with it, this is excellent news! However, if you are feeling Christmassed-out, you might be worried about the upcoming week or two.
The enforced jollity and pressure of social engagements, preparing for activities and the requirement to “be HAPPY!” might be exhausting and overwhelming. It can be very difficult to admit to not really feeling it, especially if people around you aren’t willing to accept your feelings.
Matt Haig recently wrote an article about his experiences of battling depression at Christmas and what he learned from it (content warning: depression, suicide).
I’ve written before about various ideas to get through the Christmas period if it isn’t going well for you – including looking at your ‘shoulds’, mindfulness, grounding and using support networks.
Recently KentOnline published an article, “Where can I escape Christmas in Kent?”. Please note that a couple of the listed events have now passed, but there are still some good ideas there.
It can be especially difficult to say “no” at Christmas. Some people will use the season as an excuse to ramp up expectations and use emotional blackmail to get you to do what they want. Perhaps you’ve heard “But it’s Christmas!” or some reference to “goodwill to all” used in this way? Fortunately, The Pool has recently published an excellent article with suggestions of techniques you can use to tackle this.
Maybe you feel it is too late to change things for this year now. So, this year might be a chance to take stock of what works for you and what doesn’t. You can start making changes early enough next year that people can get used to it. It’s okay if you would rather stay home at Christmas. If you would prefer to have a ‘quiet one’, that’s fine. If you want to skip some events and go to others then do so. You are not obliged to justify yourself!
I wish for all of you to have the Christmas which brings the most happiness to you, whatever that looks like. I will be closing on Wednesday 20th December 2017 and reopening on Tuesday 2nd January 2018. Any texts, calls or emails during this period will be answered as soon as I can do so after reopening. If you need to talk to someone between these dates, there is a list of other organisations and their contact details here.