NoChristmas is the busiest time of year: lunches and dinners with relatives, corporate events, opportunities to see friends and family. But there is also the rush for gifts, decorations, preparations and many, sometimes too many, expectations. AND thus what should be the moment of universal joy and serenitybetween hugs and positive feelings, can generate strong emotional stress. It’s called Christmas Syndrome, an increasingly widespread phenomenon that risks ruining the holidays. Here’s what to do.
Christmas syndrome: what is it
While everyone around us is eagerly waiting and full of joy and enthusiasm, those suffering from Christmas Blues do not share these positive feelings. On the contrary. Feels the prevalence of emotions and feelings restlessness, melancholy and apathy, but also anxiety, stress, irritability united with feeling of feeling “wrong” and “out of place”. «Christmas is perceived as a time of obligatory happiness. When your emotional state does not coincide with what society prescribesthe feeling of inadequacy arises. The Christmas Blues is neither an anomaly nor a personal weakness: we arrive at Christmas already tired, with days that quickly become dark, frenetic pace and very high expectations. It is physiological to feel under the weather. The problem arises when we are confronted with an ideal image of the holidays that rarely reflects reality», reassures Doctor Charlie Fantechipsychologist, psychotherapist and hypnotist.
Christmas syndrome: biological and psychological reasons
Christmas Blues has, first and foremost, biological roots. In winter the days get shorter and exposure to natural light decreases, affecting serotonin levels, circadian rhythms andconsequentially, on mood. «The body enters a phase of lower energy: we are in the symbolically ‘darkest’ moment of the yearthe one in which nature undresses before rebirth. It is physiological to feel less reactive, more tired or more vulnerable» explains Fantechi.
To the biological components psychological overload is added between family commitments, organizing parties, social expectations and constant comparison with ideal models of happiness. At this the classic end-of-year balance sheet is added: a moment that can accentuate self-criticism, a sense of inadequacy or the perception of not having achieved what was hoped for. «Many people, especially at Christmas, experience amplified emotional loneliness, even when they are surrounded by others. And they experience a strong misalignment between how they should feel and how they actually feel”, continues the expert.
Christmas Blues: 5 practical tips
Indulge Time for oneself may seem like an escape, but in reality «it is a treatment strategy. It’s not a lack of Christmas spirit, it’s emotional self-regulation. Reducing commitments and listening to your own rhythm allows you to experience the holidays with more authenticity and less pressure”, underlines Fantechi. Here are 5 practical tips to protect yourself from the Christmas Blues. First of all «spend at least twenty minutes a day in sunlightbeing in the open air. This allows you to rebalance biological rhythms and improve your mood, as well as helping you to disconnect from the daily frenzy. Reduce social overload by selecting only commitments that guarantee meaningful and authentic relationships. Instead, limit the situations in which we feel uncomfortable, perhaps due to pre-existing family conflicts.
Give yourself short but frequent mental breaks helps avoid the accumulation of stress, to face the days with greater clarity and serenity. Listen to your bodywithout forcing ourselves to feel emotions that don’t actually belong to us. And finally, stop considering Christmas as an “examination” of one’s happiness. It is a passing anniversary that prepares us for the arrival and rebirth of the new year”, concludes Doctor Charlie Fantechi.