Most people look forward to the holiday season. For many, it’s the religious significance, for as many, it’s the first snowfall, the opening of brightly wrapped presents, and even when they get to pretend it’s an accident when they bump into someone under the mistletoe. There are those, however, who feel sad and lonely even months before the holiday season feeling the weight of the upcoming gloom. Does this describe you?
You might remember a time when you used to look forward, just like a kid, to waking up on Christmas morning. But that was when you woke up beside someone, someone you were in a committed relationship with. Then, you find out that someone had wanted out of the relationship, and had been feeling that way for months, but they finally decided that now was the time for them when to end it, because they could not fake the false connection for one more holiday.
Maybe he wanted to start the New Year early with his brand-new girlfriend. In any case, there you are at Christmas, with less-than-zero holiday spirit. Relationship breakups can feel truly painful during the holiday season but when combined with other conditions could really be a huge set back for some. For those of you who already notice that during the drearier and darker and winter months your energy drops and you get moody, sleep more, get sluggish, eat more, withdraw socially, get more irritable…these are a collection of signs not just of relationship sadness, you might also be suffering from SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder. But while winter might be the most common season for SAD, the season that is triggered for you might very well be another time of year.
The seasonal in SAD means that your condition can be triggered not so much by one of the four season, but as well by a time of year that you associate with the anniversary of a traumatic experience, such as a breakup, or divorce. But during the holidays, feelings of sadness and stress may arise from the unusual demands made on the emotions by a family gathered together, or on your wallet during the gift-giving season. It could just be that you don’t like winter.
But whether it’s a negative association with the holidays, or unhappy memories of holidays past or the associations of painful holidays with a partner, it’s time to tap to find release from the emotional hijacking. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can help you get over your SAD early so you have plenty of time to get your holiday spirit on. Tap on the sadness you know you’ll feel this coming holiday season. Get help from an experienced EFT coach, if need be. Then, when your Yuletide sorrow has been resolved, you can tap into all that holiday cheer in a couple of months. Buy your presents early. Wrap them early, too, and tie them with ribbon in colors that bring you joy.
