‘Tis the season, yes. And it’s okay NOT to be merry. It’s okay not to be okay at this supposedly “happy” time. You may have recently lost a loved one. Or Christmas is one of those times that you used to really look forward to and this year is the first you will spend without a family member.
As they say, bad things happen and they happen regardless of the time of the year. Break-up, divorce, losing your job, feeling anxious, depressed and overwhelmed. Often our feeling of sadness and emptiness is magnified because of what we see and hear around us – cheery Christmas carols on the radio, throngs of people in the malls shopping for gifts, an abundance of festive holiday decorations, and exuberant greetings in your Facebook wall with dollops of platitudes (e.g. “everything happens for a reason”) from well-meaning friends and acquaintances.
Are you grieving in some way? How did you manage the past week?
Here’s something that I find helpful: “Ways to Survive the Holidays When You’re Grieving” by Megan Devine (of Refuge in Grief) and illustrator Brittany Bilyeu.
