For some the holiday blues start as soon as they hear the phrase, “The holiday season is upon us.”
They know it’s the blues because they experience a lingering sense of emotional pain. Most of us immediately think of the missing pieces during these occasions. The media depicts a perfect picture of lights, family, decorations, and celebrations and if our reality falls anything short of this, which it usually does, we spiral into the sadness of the holiday blues.
We generally associate the holidays with going home and being with family, yet for some of us home has lost its significance over the years. Whether it is due to loss of loved ones or turmoil among family members the notion of home and family is very triggering to many. Additionally, the holidays are about honoring old traditions or making new ones. Our societal norms entice us to practice the rituals we have been raised by or at least create new ones. However, life does not always provide us with opportunities and sometimes we find ourselves very far from the practiced traditions. So, what do we do when life doesn’t go according to plan? What do we do when we lack the picture-perfect family, and the holidays remind us of all that we don’t have?
At any given time, our life has strengths and limitations. There are areas in our lives that are not satisfactory and than there are parts that demonstrate our accomplishments. As social psychologists have discovered in their extensive research, our brain likes to dwell on the shortcomings and negativity more than on the positive aspects; therefore, during the holiday seasons, when time comes to take a mental inventory of our life, we tend to linger in all that we are dissatisfied with. Noticing the shortcomings with a potential for change and showing gratitude for the positive aspects of our life is a great means of dealing with the holiday blues. Remembering that for every loss, we have gained something, even though it may not seem significant to us now. Remembering that pages of life can turn at any given moment and that in everything we take for granted there is potential of loss.
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