Avoiding the Holiday Blues
A couple of days ago I was thinking about doing a few posts pertaining to the holiday season. I didn’t have a clue on what direction to go. Enter Scott…he has a lot to say about the holidays, specifically the holiday blues. He has so much to say in fact that we are going to have to space this out a bit! I have, of course, read ahead and love what he has to say.
Hoping to find a deal on some lawn furniture a few weeks ago, I sauntered into a local store. I then made my way past all the Halloween decorations, costumes, and candy. Oh there was so much candy! I stayed true to my objective, however, and kept moving toward the outdoor section but not before perusing through some cardboard turkeys, pumpkins, and horns of plenty. My mind then drifted to Thanksgiving turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, and a host of other delectable food choices. Wait! Focus - lawn furniture. Again, I moved on. Finally, I reached the outdoor lawn and patio section and what did I find? Chaise lounges? Patio tables? No. Precisely where the furniture was supposed to be I found myself staring at a 6 foot plastic snowman and a myriad of artificial Christmas trees. At that point in time, my lightning fast intellect realized this: Holiday season is upon us.
While the holiday season brings up fond memories of family get-togethers, great food, and other festivities, it also can be a very stressful time. Sometimes during the holidays, depression rears its ugly head, emotions can run high, and conflicts can occur. Unfortunately, the holiday season provides another opportunity for that cunning, baffling, and powerful disease of ours to work its way back into our lives and trigger relapse. This phenomenon is what I like to call The Holiday Blues and I have discovered five basic reasons for its existence.
Busyness
Letdown
Unrealistic Expectations
Emotional Extremes
Spiritual Poverty
So now that these have been identified, what do we do about them? Let’s look at each one separately.
TO BE CONTINUED…..
(Source: lahacienda.com)
