Musings On Life and Christmas

Hello everyone,

Christmas is a time of joy, peace, and hope. Well, at least for the kids, anyway. There's a lot of people in the world who are depressed at this time of the year, myself included. There's many reasons why people feel depressed; being alone, loss of a loved one, yearning for the great Christmases in the past that will not come again, regret (especially around New Year's), and some can't put their finger on it (aka, just the Holiday Blues). I think I fall under the Holiday Blues category which seems to come every year like clockwork.

Either way, there has been many solutions put out by popular psychologists and pseudo psychologists. One of which is to not keep yourself reclusive, especially the feeling of loneliness category. Another way to fight the depression is to start new traditions such as giving a Christmas party where friends come over. These seem like reasonable solutions, however, there are some caveats.

One of depression's insidious nature is that people don't feel pleasure, or anhedonia (which means no feelings of happiness or hope). Depression is a snowball going downhill, the worse it is, the more negative effects you feel. For example, one is feeling physical pain, and this can be psychosomatic (all in your head) or it is real. Some people start getting grouchy after every little thing that happens.

So if you are feeling the depressive symptoms, such as the ones listed, how could you possibly be in the mood to throw a party or not feel the need to stay away from people in general? When forced into a social setting, depressives either try to act happy or tend to hide in a corner by themselves. Both scenarios are energy drainers. Which brings me to another symtom: the need to sleep. Some people tend to think that sleeping a lot is plain laziness, however, in reality, sleep is an escape from reality or the negative feelings they are experiencing. Even a nightmare can seem like relief for the sufferer.

Life is not an ideal situation, according to the Bible: everything gets old, brittle, breaks, and dies. If you think about it, you buy a brand new car and think you'll be happy, right? No. Cars break down and need repair. New house? They decay and require maintenance. All living things eventually die. The lesson from the Bible is that you don't count on earthly things but things of God. Picturing what Heaven is like; eternal peace, hope, joy, beauty, and healing can have a positive effect on a person. We can strive to be God-like (fyi, we'll never be, we just keep trying so don't expect yourself to be perfect) and have faith in the triune God. When we leave this earth, we can attain what is good in Heaven.

I leave you with this; if you are experiencing "the blues", anhedonia, or depression, get professional help. Especially when you start saying to yourself that you want to die. You don't need to announce it to the world, therapists keeps your secrets. You won't be "cured" on your first visit, but it is a stepping stone going up instead of further into a pit.

Psalm 34:18, 19 – The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (19) A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

God bless you all and know that there are others who are feeling what you are.