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Happiest Time
T-4 days until “The happiest day of the year,” Christmas! But as much as I absolutely love Christmas, I think it is important to recognize that it can often be quite stressful as well. There is a lot that goes into Christmas - from decorating to buying gifts and coordinating this holiday that has now turned into a mini-event in every household, it can quickly become a hefty task to make sure everything goes smoothly. Don’t get me wrong, everyone loves the product of the work that goes into Christmas, and the festive feeling that comes from it, but I think society’s standard for Christmas has gotten way too high.
Now I am not going to say anything specific about Christmas or Christmas traditions as everyone celebrates in their own way and I don’t really think it is my place to give recommendations about how you celebrate. All I want to say, is to be aware of and manage your personal health through this season. It is my prayer that this time is totally joyous for everyone, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. And my fear is that due to society’s standard that Christmas can only be joyful, you will think your feelings are invalid. I want you to know that whatever you feel during this holiday season, whether it is joy or stress or anything in between, it is totally valid and allowed.
So if you need to take a break to just sit and eat a cookie so you can relax for a second - do it! And maybe the stress you are feeling during this period isn’t necessarily related to Christmas, but just happens to be occurring right now. I would encourage you to also take a second to sit, eat a cookie, and just enjoy the holiday spirit around you as well.
At the end of the day, the point I am really trying to make is that although this is supposed to be “the happiest time of the year,” it doesn’t mean that you have to feel totally happy and perfect - your feelings are totally valid no matter what they are and I want you to know that.
So that is my challenge to you this week: be honest with yourself about your mental health. It can be easy to feel like you need to bottle everything up this week and deal with it later, but I think it is important to recognize what you might be feeling. Please don’t hear that I am saying to totally unleash on your family or anyone else who is stressing you out during this season, as that is not what I am trying to say. But I think there can be a happy balance. If you need a short break, take a short break (I prefer my short breaks to have snacks involved but that is up to you :)), and figure out a way to manage these feelings while also enjoying this season instead of just bottling everything up.
Merry Christmas,
-Dan
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