Our BetterMost Community > The Holiday Forum
The Holiday Blues
Scott6373:
--- Quote from: moremojo on November 06, 2007, 12:45:26 pm ---
My solution--just stop. Don't do it. Don't participate. Give a loved one a gift when they least expect it--then they will know it truly comes from your heart, and not just social conformity. What I value about the holidays is having time off from work and spending time with family--this is the true gift, and one invaluably more meaningful than the latest gadget or bauble.
--- End quote ---
I could do that, but I am married to a devout Christian who absolutely loves this holiday. So I literally suffer through the house decorating, the shows, the music...it all seems so false to me, so empty.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Scott on November 06, 2007, 12:48:03 pm ---I could do that, but I am married to a devout Christian who absolutely loves this holiday. So I literally suffer through the house decorating, the shows, the music...it all seems so false to me, so empty.
--- End quote ---
Well, at the risk of sounding facetious, here you rather do sound like Charlie Brown. It must be very difficult feeling this way when everyone around you, especially Rick, feels so differently about the season. Have you explored why it all seems so false and empty to you? Maybe with professional assistance?
Scott6373:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on November 06, 2007, 01:05:42 pm ---Well, at the risk of sounding facetious, here you rather do sound like Charlie Brown. It must be very difficult feeling this way when everyone around you, especially Rick, feels so differently about the season. Have you explored why it all seems so false and empty to you? Maybe with professional assistance?
--- End quote ---
I have, and all they tell me is it's seasonal effective disorder...a ubiquitous diagnosis at best. Around this time I will start an antidepressant and take it through the holidays, then taper off as spring approaches.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Scott on November 06, 2007, 01:12:21 pm ---I have, and all they tell me is it's seasonal effective disorder...a ubiquitous diagnosis at best. Around this time I will start an antidepressant and take it through the holidays, then taper off as spring approaches.
--- End quote ---
Hmm. Well, I wouldn't presume to second-guess your doctors, but that usually hits me after the holidays, when there is nothing to look forward to for three months until spring. :-\
serious crayons:
Having grown up in an areligious, non-Christian yet Christmas-celebrating family, I don't have much problem with that particular conflict. To me, Christmas works perfectly well as a secular holiday, a great time to see friends and exchange tokens of affection and attend parties and eat delightful foods and decorate the house and put up a tree and lights lots of candles and wear festive clothes ... all activities done purely for their own sake, because they're fun and pretty and heartwarming.
My own Christmas problem is my sons. Their tastes are narrow and their expectations are high -- they've never played much with toys, even when young, so it's always been a little tricky to find things they like. But now, at 11 and 13, they are mainly interested in electronics and sporting equipment, stuff that's way out of my budget. Add to that the fact that I'm the one doing the shopping and I'm not the best judge of young boys' tastes. Yet they really want to be surprised and excited on Christmas. A couple of years ago, the last year we sort of kept up the pretense of Santa's existence, they hated almost everything I got them. They tried to be polite, but their disappointment was obvious. Christmas was genuinely ruined for me.
BTW, I get Seasonal Affective Disorder, too. Mine doesn't really kick in until after the holidays, but it lasts until mid-March. The most effective treatment I've found for it is to get outside every day, especially if it's sunny. Often, you can feel your mood lift as quickly as if you'd taken a pill. If it's too cold to take a walk or go skiing or skating or whatever, drive a car with a sunroof.
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