One of my clients recently described this season as a “white knuckled Christmas” for her – recently separated and struggling to manage her sadness, this is not a new story.
All those cheery songs and festive parties can certainly stir up the feelings when you are newly separated, bereaved, undergoing strife or plain old loneliness. Even when we know that the season is “commercial” and “just another day”, and so on, this time of the year can, for many, put an intense microscope over where their life is – with all its memories of the past and uncertainty about the future. As my client said, “all around it’s its fa-la-la-la-la and the zap of the plastic and people’s plans”.
We don’t want to feel like spoilsports in a season which demands we smile but the real grinch at Christmas – hammering at the door and drowning out joy – is our harsh inner critic.