By Dixie 
The holiday blues…Sometimes the holidays can seem so…depressing. Maybe not depressing exactly, but a feeling of uneasiness. Kind of like you should be happier, why aren’t you as joy filled as everyone else is on Facebook (ha!), why isn’t your extended family singing Christmas carols and hugging each other?
The holidays can be fun. It’s just that it feels like we are expected to have these wonderful happy feelings all month 24/7. Unfortunately we humans are just not wired that way.
So what can you do to get more of the joy and less of the junk?
- Take a deep breath. Realize that no one, and I do mean no one has a perfect family life. We are all imperfect human beings thrown together during the holidays, usually too many in a small space for several hours or days at a time. We all come to this collective table with our own baggage and expectations. It’s messy. We are messy. All of us. Let go of the holiday guilt stuff. It’s not reality anyway.
- Take control of your thoughts. Focus on anything good. When your mind wanders back to negative thoughts, turn your thoughts back to the positive. Don’t give up.
- Find something to be grateful about. Find something good about every single (sometimes annoying) relative or friend. Find something good in every event you attend. Become aware of what you are thankful for–make a list if you need to. Focus on that.
- Speak positive words. You have probably heard the phrase “Be nice to everyone because, everyone is fighting a battle.” That is especially true during this season when expectations and the pressure to live up to them is off the chart high.
- Do something nice for others. Smile at the tired cashier, thank a policeman, volunteer for a charity. Read to someone at a nursing or assisted living home. Give a dollar or two to the Salvation Army bucket folks. Help yo’ Mama (or Dada) clean her/his house. Don’t forget to me nice to yourself as well…be good to your future self by doing something nice for you. Give everyone, including yourself, a break.
And finally, one of the best things you can do is take a break from social media, news media, and negativity. Even an hour a day where you refuse to check email, refuse to look on Facebook, refuse to check out CNN or Fox News.
Remember:
On Facebook or any other social media site, everyone posts their very best picture. No one posts themselves fighting with their kids, cleaning up dog poo off the rug or walking around in dirty jammies at 2 in the afternoon. It is not reality. All relationships, dogs and houses are messy.
News outlets make money with ratings. What bleeds, leads. That is why most all of the stories are about crime, war, sickness, tragedy. It is not reality. There are good people left in this world and the sky is truly not falling just yet.
Deep breath. Be positive. Take control. You got this.
Refuse to have the holiday blues.