Sadness, Loneliness And Anguish At Christmas: 5 Tips To Deal With Them
Christmas always comes with an ambivalence: either you are one of those people who loves to decorate your entire house, get together with all your family, friends and eat until you can’t take it anymore. Or, on the other hand, those that bring back memories of times past, people who are no longer in your life and feelings of loneliness or isolation However, from the media and the social and collective imagination, Christmas seems to bring the obligation to be happy and enjoy.
But what happens when you’re not happy at Christmas? What to do if you don’t have a family to hang out with? If you live far from all your loved ones? If someone has just been missing who you can’t imagine living without these days? Contrary to what we believe, pain still exists at Christmas, and it seems to penetrate us with greater impact, since people who don’t feel that way seem completely oblivious.
In this article, we are going to offer you practical tips to deal with these emotions during this festive period in the best possible way It is important to recognize your sadness, give yourself importance and look for ways to get out of those thought loops that only bring darkness and bad feelings.
Feeling sad, alone and distressed at Christmas should not be understood exclusively as a normal emotional experience linked to a specific context or situation. It is also important to understand them as components with a significant impact on mental health. These emotions can trigger or aggravate conditions such as anxiety and depression, negatively affecting people’s quality of life in numerous spheres of their daily lives. Social pressure to experience constant joy can lead to feelings of failure and isolation, contributing to emotional burden.
Mental health is an integral aspect of our well-being, and recognizing and generating satisfactory coping strategies for these types of emotions is essential to prevent more serious consequences and grow more emotionally speaking. Denial or repression of these feelings can lead to a continued deterioration in mental health, affecting interpersonal relationships and self-esteem.
It is crucial to banish the stigma associated with experiencing, understanding and expressing these complex emotions during the holidays Seeking support and understanding from friends, family, or mental health professionals can make a huge difference. Advocating for awareness and empathy in society at large is also essential to creating safe and understanding environments so that all people can feel comfortable sharing our emotional struggles.
5 tips to deal with these emotions
The key to overcoming sadness, loneliness and anguish during festive times such as Christmas lies in knowing how to adopt practical strategies that promote comprehensive emotional well-being. We are going to offer you five tips that can help you approach these emotional experiences in a decisive way and thus make living this Christmas period easier. Keep in mind that each person is different and, therefore, the use of these strategies is closely linked to individual differences and needs.
1. Social connections
An idea to face this period trying to avoid feeling sad and alone is to take refuge in your social and emotional ties. Christmas can be a very complicated time for those people who do not have good family relationships. Seek support from your friends or significant people around you Express to them that this is a complicated time and that you need their support and attention to get through these days. Anyone who loves you will understand your needs and offer you support during these complex days.
You may be having a hard time facing Christmas because your family circumstances have changed; A family member is no longer at the table, you live abroad or you work during the most important meetings. It is important that you do not refuse to give importance to this time of year (if you want) and try to generate new traditions or adapt the usual ones to your current circumstance. It is evident that it is conflictive to experience these very familiar holidays when, for example, beloved members of your family begin to be missing or you are not able to meet them. However, there are ways to give value to this time and create special situations for yourself in a different way than always.
3. Take care of yourself
If none of the above advice fits your situation, it will surely resonate with you to take all the time you have this Christmas to take care of yourself, your well-being, your mind and your emotions. If you don’t feel like surrounding yourself with people or you don’t want to experience the Christmas season as its trademark holiday, nothing happens.
Take advantage of your free days to relax, do things you want, but you have been leaving aside or indulging yourself. Organizing a trip, sitting down to read that book that you haven’t opened for so long, or dedicating yourself to going to different cultural activities in your city can be good plans to take care of yourself and feel supported by yourself this holiday season.
Contributing to your community in a supportive and charitable way can also help you overcome these emotions this Christmas, in addition to helping to fill your time with activities that can be significant for your well-being. At Christmas, many charity markets are organized, toy collections and food distribution to disadvantaged families, support for elderly people who are alone, for example. Disconnecting from your pain to promote social collaboration is very beneficial for some people, so consider whether it could fit your situation. I can assure you that you receive more than you give.
5. Seek professional support
Finally, don’t forget to seek professional and therapeutic support. It’s okay to look for ways to work through these emotions on your own, but There is no problem (quite the opposite) in seeking help from professionals to express how you feel Maybe you haven’t fully understood these emotions, nor do you know how to find strategies or activities to feel better. In these cases, instead of experimenting, the best idea is to resort to therapeutic help, begin a healing and restorative process that will have an almost guaranteed medium and long-term impact. And even from the first session you start to feel better.
I hope these tips help you and from my heart I wish you the best for you.
