Most of us have been told since childhood that Christmas should be the happiest time of the year, a chance to gather and celebrate with family and friends. For many, it is the most anticipated moment. For others, it is the most painful. Contrary to popular belief, the end-of-year holidays are also associated with a high incidence of depression.
For those lucky enough to spend this special time surrounded by family, everyday worries were set aside, and the focus was on fun, joy, and entertainment. Amid the hustle of buying and wrapping gifts, choosing the right outfit, and ensuring that the food and drink were satisfactory for everyone, feelings of stress, excitement, insecurity, satisfaction, anxiety, confusion, joy, frustration, and many others mixed together creating a real emotional rollercoaster. For adrenaline lovers, the rollercoaster is always fun. But for those who are not fans of strong emotions, the physical and mental exhaustion post-holidays affects them more significantly.
After the joy of giving and receiving gifts, everyday problems return, and for many, so does the pressure and worry about the upcoming credit card bill. There is also nostalgia for those happy family moments that passed so quickly, like the blink of an eye, and that will only recur in a year.
For another part of the population not so fortunate, the end-of-year holidays are associated with a lonely and depressive period. This might be because these individuals do not have a family to gather with, or because they have suffered losses during this time. The absence of a family member who made these special moments bright can transform a period always meant for celebration and joy into difficult days marked by the pain of longing.
There are also those who live in extreme poverty and feel even more excluded from society because they cannot afford to celebrate Christmas with a lavish table of food and gifts that bring joy to children. For these people, the feeling is one of frustration, sadness, and anger at the excessive commercialization of Christmas, which emphasizes consumption and “perfect” social activities.
Finally, we must not forget those who become depressed during this time of year because Christmas seems to trigger in them a profound and excessive self-reflection and analysis of their inadequacies in life, compared to others who seem to have more and do much more.
In summary, depending on which group you identified with, the emotional hangover from the end of the festivities and the start of the new year will be felt differently. The emptiness and nostalgia you may be feeling now are directly linked to how much you enjoyed and felt happy during this period. Conversely, for those who wish Christmas did not exist and prefer every other date of the year, the feeling now is one of relief.
Regardless of how each of us feels now, and even if we hesitate to admit it, we all go through different waves of emotions during the end of the year. From joy to sadness, from enthusiasm to depression, we all experience intense feelings during this period. And even those who will disagree and say that Christmas for them is just another date, I challenge you to reflect. Really???
Thais Clemente