The holiday season can be overwhelming for many. For one thing, it starts too early. I saw my first Christmas themed TV commercial a week before Halloween this year. Yikes! Really ... do we need to have it shoved down our throats that early. Of course these ads are really about the shopping. I get that. As my wife will tell you I like to give gifts. I especially like to give things that mean something. Still, the assault on our senses during this time of year can be overwhelming to many of us. It is very easy to lose ourselves and slip into the dark place.
A year ago, just before I created this blog, I was driving home from work. It was a few weeks before Christmas and I was in no mood for it at all. Those that get Christmas cards from my family are very familiar with my annual Holiday Letter. I usually have that written and the cards sent out by the beginning of December. Not last year. Not until the memory of my Dad and the joy he felt and gave at Christmas rushed into my head on that drive home. I was so overwhelmed that I pulled over. The flood of emotion jolted me out of my funk. Once I home, I created one of the most satisfying Holiday letters I had ever written.
I have found that the key to overcoming a bout of depression, or melancholy is good memories. Flash forward to today and I feel much different. While I may experience a momentary dark period I am excited about the holiday. Not the rushing around or the shopping, but the times with family and friends. I know that there are those of you out there that want to just go to bed and avoid this whole season. I am asking you to resist that. If you have lost someone in the past or something has happened to cause this wonderful time of year to be less appealing, I say remember the good memories with family and friends. Go visiting and enjoy their company. We all want to be happy and it is within reach. Ask for help if you need to. Help will be given. Hang in there.
Know that I am thinking about you and wish you all the best.
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