While finishing the last touches of decorating, buying and wrapping presents, we might experience feelings of sadness and depression instead of happiness.
My last blog spoke to how losses can impact our Christmas. Those losses include pets that were a major part of our families.
It isn’t just recent losses that can influence our feelings.Holidays remind us of magical childhood moments when we were spellbound over lights and the promise of unwrapping that special present we wanted more than anything.
But holidays also remind us of strained relationships, broken promises and a past filled with pain and disappointment. It can remind us of a childhood where the dreams of a happy family were constantly shattered.
When painful emotions from the past surface, we often medicate ourselves with drugs or alcohol or endless shopping sprees to dull the ache. We lose ourselves in parties so we don’t have to feel. But deep inside a tiny voice pleads, “I am tired of running away and feeling sad. I want to feel peace and happiness. I want to experience that childlike wonder of expectation and anticipation this Christmas.”