Are You a Holiday Hater?
You’re not alone. Unless you want to be.
Let me explain
If you don’t have friends or family around you for the holidays and you’re missing your loved ones that are gone, you may need a strategy. You may have to give yourself a stern talking-to.
The Tool of Distraction
What do you do if you have a toddler crying out of control, you try to distract the toddler into something that brings them back into the moment, “Hey look at this over here, little Johnny.”
This is a good technique for yourself at any age!
You have two paths to choose:
Bah Humbug!
I’m so alone and I miss my spouse, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, son, daughter, cousin, best friend, neighbor, etc.
- Life is terrible
- Holidays suck
- Everything is awful
- Nobody thinks about me or cares about me
OR…
Make the best of it
I’m still alive and I am going to make the best of it. The best way to feel happy is to do something for someone or something else. I’m going to:
- Write a letter a day until the end of the year telling people how important they are to me.
- Volunteer at a nursing home
- Start an indoor herb garden
- Walk dogs in the local animal shelter
- Offer to help at a homeless shelter
- Turn on a funny movie or go to a comedy show
- Ask someone that lives alone if they want to spend time with me
This article is NOT meant to minimize sadness and depression
This is meant to be a reminder that there are tools for coping during the holidays. AND you are important in this world. Please read this article to remind yourself about how important you. And, readers enjoyed this article written by a mental health counselor last year.
Don’t stay home and weep
Bring yourself back into the present moment and don’t waste the NOW.
Please use tools to remind yourself of your value and focus on OTHERS so YOU will be happy.
Would you like to share your thoughts in the comment box below?
Can you share how you go out of your way to do something for someone ELSE during the holidays?
Do you have a story to tell?
This is a hard time of year for a lot of people who are alone and I would hope that if people know they have friends home alone they would invite to be part of their family. Lets try and keep our home alone people a part of our family gathering plus lets keep these people with us in our hearts all year long. Merry Christmas.
Beautifully said. Yes, let’s all be mindful of our friends and neighbors all year long!
Another great piece of advice. One of my widowed friends gets in such moods and she recently called to say she spent the day crying and when she went out to shop and saw decorations she thought “I don’t need these things anymore” and she kept reliving the past and dwelling on what she no longer has. I found my self giving her similar advice to what you have said here. I actually heard myself say, “Go ahead and cry some more if you really think you must, but then, afterward, stop and start living. You are still alive, able to think, talk, hear, walk . . . some folks cannot do these things from the time of their birth. Don’t dwell on what you don’t have but instead, on what you do have and then write a card to a shut-in or give someone a call. Instead of wondering why a person hasn’t called to check in on you, check in on that person. Maybe that person needs you right now. You are alive. live.” I wondered if I would upset her, but it brought her out of the funk. I have found that being straight forward with what is on my mind seems to be what is best when friends call to vent. So far, that has been the case. Merry Christmas! ( I feel too sick to tackle the tasks I planned to do, so I find myself writing a response here today) 🙂
Thank you, Melba. We have to be loving yet honest. I think that’s more helpful in the long run. We could all sit around and cry if we wanted. But it’s so much better to LIVE!