Merry little Christmas to you

It’s no wonder that after Christmas some of us feel tired.

Physically we try to juggle work with increasingly busy social commitments.

We’ll find time to at least hang a couple of mangy decorations to bring joy to our place; and year after year, even though we say “next year, I’ll be prepared and organized,” we still find ourselves fighting through masses of people to do Christmas shopping.

All of this with one budget. The fact that we do manage demonstrates we are amazing.

In Melbourne it’s said we experience four seasons in one day.

For some of us, Christmas can be like Melbourne’s weather: we can get so overwhelmed with mixed emotions, we might be laughing and celebrating with friends one minute and the next thing we know we have a tear in our eye and feel sad for no particular reason.

But worse is feeling the need to hide it because being ‘happy, jolly and all Christmassy’ is what is expected this time of the year.

Christmas can be the perfect time of year to share with family and friends, but at the same time, don’t underestimate the amount of stress involved in getting into the ‘Christmas spirit’. If we add to all of that, other big life issues – deaths, financial struggle, breakups, social isolation – it’s not surprising that we can experience some degree of holiday depression.

The first thing to do is to acknowledge it and understand we are human beings after all, it is normal.

Here are some suggestions for the ‘silly season’:

Remember family and friends appreciate you for what you are, not what you can give, so keep it simple – no need to give more than you can afford.

Try to surround yourself with positive attitudes, people who make you laugh and give you encouragement. If you are far away, there are other ways to engage with your support people and friends such as online or by telephone.

Get out and about. Melbourne has lots of activities to offer and many of them are free of charge, check www.thatsmelbourne.com.au for suggestions. There are also many organised social groups who offer interesting alternatives.

Search online to find organisations that might be desperately looking for help. Volunteering is a great way of meeting like-minded people and to feel better about yourself.

Enjoy the excitement and energy of the holidays, and in the true spirit of the season, be aware and inclusive of the ones around you that might be going through rough times.

Take care of each other and have yourself a merry little Christmas.

By CARLOS SEPULVEDA