I don't hate the holidays but I don't particularly care for them either. It can come off a little bit Grinch-y but it is the sad and cold truth. It hasn't always been like that though. There was a point in time where I used to love the holiday season but life threw a few major curve balls my way that knocked me off balance from there on. Then I moved to the U.S and things were never quite the same. As I write these words and share my feelings about Christmas season, I remember that Friday morning not too long ago where me and other members from my church were having a conversation about how what is supposed to be the most hope-filled season of the year is actually the quite the opposite and for many different seasons.
I remember sharing my story and my testimony of how it is only this year that God started that healing some things that had been weighting on me for years and preventing me from being able to relate to the joy, excitement and anticipation surrounding the holidays. For some people the holidays are filled with joy, hope, parties, love and it truly is the most wonderful time of the years. But for some others, like it is the case for me, it just turns out that it isn't: it is a season where some of us are rigged with anxiety, sadness and/or paralyzed by depression for endless reasons. If you are there too, let me tell you this friend: you are not alone. And I wish I had a remedy or a panache that would magically lift off the weight on your chest, or dissipate those clouds and make the sun shine again. But I don't: I, myself, am still wrestling with those very feelings. And although I don't have a cure that would magically make the dis-ease caused by this season of the year go away, I do however have five tips that I hope you can hold on to during this time like you would to a life jacket until it's all over.
1- Be gentle with yourself
I came to realize that around the holidays is the time where I am most vulnerable and my mental/emotional health is the most delicate. I have also found that it is the time where I need to treat myself with the uttermost care. Be kind to yourself. Be gentle. Give yourself permission to feel what you are feeling without any judgment. Sleep. Make some tea. Pamper yourself. Do the things that make you feel good but most importantly take it one day at the time.
2- Surround yourself with good energy.
As an empath, I am naturally very vulnerable to people's energy and twice as much when I am in a low period. Whether you are anything like me and easily pick up people's energy like a sponge or not, it is a fact that energy is contagious: people that complain all the time will wear you out just like people that are happy and upbeat will lift you up. This season, make sure you surround yourself with good energy. And I know the last thing you want to do is to be around people but go against that feeling once in a blue moon this holiday season and surround yourself with people whose energy is worth catching. Give them as well as yourself permission to uplift you and uplevel your energetic vibrations.
3- Practice daily gratitude
Although it can be hard, especially in times when we're brooding, practicing daily gratitude helps put things in perspective. I personally started practicing daily gratitude after seeing a post one day that said :" If all you had today was what you were grateful for yesterday , how much would you have?" Being grateful shifts the perspective and allows to find little rays of sun in the cloudy days. "A grateful heart is a magnet for for miracles": gratitude won't make your problems go away but it will help you realize [hopefully] that things are not as bad as they seem to be.
4- Do something that matters
Volunteer to serve meals to homeless people or to cheer up people in the hospital or something else but make sure you do something. Not only will it get you out of your head but it will boost your self confidence. Find a cause you are passionate about and throw yourself in it. Not all at once of course because it can be overwhelming but rather, bit by bit until instead of being consumed by depression you are consumed by the joy of being of assistance and able to put a little sunshine in someone else life. You are giving back to your community and reaching out to other but indirectly, you are also saving yourself so I don't know about you but I think it is worth trying.
5- Know that you are loved and you are not alone.
Depression during the holiday season nine times out of ten is exacerbated by the feelings of loneliness and rejection. You may feel like you are alone but friend you are not. There is a faithful friend who is with you and will always be until the end of times (Matt 28:20). You may feel worthless, rejected and unloved but John 3:16 is the proof of God's love that stands the test of time forever: a life that was laid for you friend so that you could be here. God thought you were so worth being loved that He gave His only son so that by his sacrifice your life could be secured. Depression, anxiety, sadness and hopelessness are real but so is the everlasting and unfailing love of God (Jere 31:3). You are loved, you are seen ad you are worth all the amazing things God has in store for you.
Friend wherever you are as you read those words, I hope they find you well and if you are wrestling with all the not so good feelings that at times are tied to this holiday season, I pray they give you hope and a renewed strength to get through this time and more. I pray you know and remember that you are not alone: We are all in this together.
Sending you love and good thoughts and wishing you the merriest Christmas you've ever had, praying that you feel more alive than you've ever been.
Until next time,
Be First to Post Comment !
Post a Comment