Tips to Help You Survive the Holidays

This time of year advertising is full of smiling people cooking and shopping and having a wonderful time. Families lovingly gather round the table for home cooked holiday meals that rival anything on the Food Network. Enthusiastic shoppers with armloads of beautifully wrapped gifts gleefully place their packages under brightly lit beautifully decorated trees. Ah, isn't the holiday season grand?

Let's get real

Most of us feel over worked, under paid, tired and are looking for a few extra days off to get a badly needed rest. Our bank accounts do not contain the funds needed to make the holidays as merry as we would like and the thought of our families coming over causes severe anxiety attacks. We wish the whole holiday season would just be over as quickly as possible. If that's more like you then don't feel bad - you are actually in the majority.

This is a very difficult season for most people. Starting with Thanksgiving and ending with the New Year, we find our regular schedules destroyed and the new ones imposing. Life seems to be turned upside down as people come to stay with us from out of town, kids return from college, and money seems to actually have wings. Has your family called you "Scrooge" yet?

Problems that you have been coping with all year now seem unmanageable. If you marriage has been struggling, it will be harder now. Everyone else seems to be so happy. The pressure to leave becomes greater. Have you recently lost a loved one? Their absence will surly be felt sadly during the holiday. Other disappointments you've experienced his years seem to weigh heavier now. It's a time of year that many people begin taking antidepressants.

The holidays have gotten very commercial. We've lost sight of the true meaning of thankfulness and joy. The whole world seems better off then you. It's a materialistic time of year. We want our kids to have fond memories of their holidays so we stand on lines for hours hoping to get the latest and greatest toy. Credit card debt overwhelms us. It will take most of the next year to dig yourself out.

Maybe this year needs to be different.

If you have a family

Speak to your spouse about a budget for the holiday and stick to it. Create holiday rituals - like baking together or making decorations for the tree - which will cut down on expenses. If families coming from out of town causes stress negotiate the time or place they will stay. Respect the wishes of your mate - your marriage is more important then a visit from rarely seem relatives. This is a good time to teach your children the values of the holidays - help others and give of yourself. The values you instill now will be with them forever.

If you don't have a family

Seek out others who will also be alone. Start early making arrangements to not be alone. Invite people to your home to cook. If everyone chips in the expenses can be minimal. You are not the only one who is alone, or miles away from your home. Or maybe there really is no one. Getting involved in community activities will make you feel needed and a part of something. Nursing homes and homeless shelters all need your helping hands at this time of year. Who knows? You may actually like it!

Don't make any life changing decisions right now.

Problems are enhanced, outlooks seem bleaker, recovery seems less likely. If things are that difficult consider speaking to a professional to help you put things into perspective. There are few decisions you will make now that can't wait until the holidays are over. I'm sure you have learned by now that nothing in life stays the same very long and the stressors of the holidays are no exception. They will pass and you will be thinking clearer when this time of year is over. Holiday blues are prevalent for many people. Kids get it too! The elderly have an exceptionally hard time. Being prepared and remember it will be over soon.