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Christmas: What Happened to It?

As I have been tying up the final loose ends for Christmas Day, I am continuously running into frazzled women. Glassy eyed, tousled hair, they seem strained, forgetful, distracted and angry. And these are not my clients; they are women trying to prepare for Christmas Day! Something has gone terribly wrong with Christmas and the festive season. High expectations, over-commercialization of Christmas – whatever it is — it is distressing grown, mature women and turning them into stressed, irritable zombies who are all repeating a surprisingly common mantra — “I just wish Christmas would be over!” Most of these women … Continue reading →

Christmas: Not Always So Cheery (2)

In our last article on this topic we looked at the high expectations that so many of us have about Christmas and the festive season and why it is not only so stressful for so many of us, but why it is often a time of unhappiness rather than joy. So how can we reduce the stress that many of us feel at Christmas and defuse some of the more unpleasant family disputes that often occur at the very time we should be happy? The answer is partially contained in the last phrase of the previous paragraph. The expectations that … Continue reading →

Christmas: Not Always So Cheery (1)

Christmas can be such a happy time for family and friends to catch up and enjoy a happy day which goes on to ultimately form happy memories in their lives as the years pass. Sadly, Christmas and the festive season in general can be the most difficult and painful time of the year for people to cope with and it is this aspect of the holiday period that I wish to discuss today. There are so many myths about Christmas in terms of how families should behave and the fun that we all should be having, that many people who … Continue reading →

What is Christmas?

For many people Christmas is all about spending time with family. For others it is about presents and shopping and the hype that goes along with Santa and presents. For those estranged from family or with no loved one nearby Christmas is the loneliest time. It is no surprise that the suicide rate goes up at Christmas. Christmas is the time when we celebrate the fact of God’s love sending His Own Son into the world as a human baby. As Michael Card puts it ‘Christmas is the celebration of the keeping of a promise… the promise that he would … Continue reading →

A Sane Christmas with your Insane Family

Well, perhaps your family isn’t clinically insane, but there are lots of families where dysfunction is as much a part of the family as the heirloom furniture. In our last article, we looked at how the younger sister of a two-daughter family decided her life was too short to go on being abused by her older sister. So Miriam made the decision to formally end her relationship with Rachel, and her Christmases and indeed her life, has been the better for it. Not all of us want or need to be as radical as Miriam in cutting out her sibling … Continue reading →

Looking after your Mental Health over Christmas

The holiday period can be a stressful time as families get together and old grievances move from festering mode into an outright screaming match. So how can you make this Christmas a better one in terms of your mental health? The key is to Be Prepared! If you have a history of unhappy Christmases with your family, the first option to consider is whether to see your birth family at all. Where considerable damage has been wreaked by a parent on a child, or by one sibling on another, and there is no hope of change, it can be preferable … Continue reading →

Families and Christmas: An Explosive Combination

Christmas is the season of good cheer, right? Well, for the most part it is. But for some people the holiday season is a time of verbal, physical and emotional abuse as families meet and “gifts” are exchanged. Often when we meet up with our parents and siblings at this time of year, there is more that the Christmas spirit bubbling away within us. In fact, the holiday season is a busy time for hospital staff and mental health workers alike. There is something about the expectations surrounding Christmas that elicits powerful emotions in us when those expectations are not … Continue reading →

Christmas Cheerio

Well, it’s one year since I began blogging on Mental Health here at Families. Where has the year gone? 2006 has certainly been a speedy, fast-paced year with its share of happiness and heartache alike. I have certainly enjoyed my stint here writing on what is one of my passions in life: mental health. We’ve covered many areas in the blog to date: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the raft of anxiety disorders, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Phobia to name a few. We’ve also looked at developmental disorders such as Autism and Asperger’s Disorder. But … Continue reading →

Putting “Christ” Back in Christmas

As the holiday season is approaching you may find yourself getting bombarded with Christmas preparations. Thankfully, when time is of the essence, there is a McDonalds every other block and the malls are opened late. The hustle and bustle of the weeks prior to Christmas have so many drained, cranky, and yet fueled for the approaching holiday. Between the lights, finding the Christmas tree, buying the gifts, planning the meals or vacation, how about taking a minute to put everything back into perspective? Have you gotten so wrapped up in the commercialism of the season that you’ve lost sight of … Continue reading →

Christmas Quotes to cheer you

Struggling to get into the true Christmas spirit because you’re so caught up in gift-buying, food organizing, and pouring oil on troubled family water? Take a moment to read through some of the heart-warming quotes and witty below and rekindle the true meaning of Christmas. It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. W.T.Ellis Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. P.J. O’Rourke I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all … Continue reading →