Americans start dreaming of a white Christmas long before Jack Frost starts nipping at our noses. Not long after summer time is packed up and sent off for another year, thoughts begin to turn to turkeys and stuffing, twinkling lights, big-bowed presents, and parties with egg nog. The big Christmas countdown begins just after Thanksgiving with merchandisers reminding you several times a day just how little time you have left to do your Christmas shopping for all those friends and relatives.
Though Christmas traditionally means Santas, sleigh bells, and snowmen, it's not a Ho! Ho! Ho! time for everyone. It's a blue Christmas for many of us because the holidays don't always bring good tidings and good cheer. Many Americans spend the holidays alone and lonely, remembering better times and circumstances. Others can't deal with the break neck pace of Christmas shopping...stores crammed with buyers and lines at registers as long as Santa's sleigh. Still others mourn the passing of loved ones or that they don't have the money for toy trains or trained puppies. For some, Christmas is a time of coping not caroling.
Lifted Spirits
Not everyone's holiday is spent singing around the fireplace. Many of us sing the blues from November through January for reasons ranging from the loss of family to the loss of a Christmas bonus. Christmas can actually lead people to drink more than eggnog, leaving them crashed and dashed on "Jingle Bell Rock." Dr. Ellen Casper, a clinical psychologist with Behavior Management Associates in Cleveland, Ohio, says there are ways to shake those Christmas blues and blahs. Casper admits the holidays help to dredge up old memories, of a time of smiling faces when life seemed easier, like some long-ago photo album. According to Casper, "It reminds us of when we were younger, more idealistic; with lots to look forward to."
A Christmas can conjure up loss of youth, idealism, and power as realistically as visions of sugarplums doing their annual dance. Casper notes that holiday time is a time of reevaluation. "Each New Year you make a resolution, and a year later, you get blue realizing you haven't quite lived up to expectations or haven't yet reached that special goal." But, Casper says, "Bah, Humbug!" to Christmas depression. She says you don't have to get down in the dumps just because it's that time of the year again. Here are some helpful hints for bringing the cheer back to Christmas:
* Try to recognize that the holiday is just another day of the year filled with all sorts of activities, not just dreaded memories. Don't magnify the importance or significance of this time of year.
* Start noticing and participating in the joyful events around you. Notice that people are more flexible, less critical, and more generous this time of year. Drink in those pleasant sights even if they are as simple as children counting pennies to buy a gift or family members building a snowman.
* The holidays sometimes signal changes in nature. Look for the change you especially like--leaves changing color, the first snowfall, children ice-skating. Think positively of snow instead of slush and salt.
* If terrible events have happened, it's
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