Christmas in the Abba house
Christmas can be all sorts of things. You may hate it. You may love it. Our past experiences dictate this to a great extent. Were your expectations met in your past or did Christmas feel like a disappointment or worse?
Christmas may evoke feelings of inadequacy, lack, loneliness, uncomfortable reminders of family presence or non-presence, memories you'd rather leave in the past... Maybe these are shrouded by negativity towards Christmas or you use the 'commercialisation of Christmas' as an excuse to avoid facing your true feelings about this time of year.
What legacy of Christmas would you rather leave for your children, present or future? How can you show gratitude for the year that has been, and those closest to you.
At some point of the past few years I began to let go of my adversity to Christmas (my wife is basically a Christmas elf so it wore my grinchness down after a while). Then I realised the opportunity to make this time of year something amazing for my own children (plus they're great free helpers for sticking stamps on cards to say thanks to the many many doctors who refer to me each year enabling me to carry on the work that I do).
Happy holiday season everyone. My practice is closed from Christmas eve this year until 6th January. If you need urgent support during this time please call Lifeline (131114) or Beyond Blue (1300224636). I will be, as always, available by email within a 24 hour time frame to all of my clients.