Three To-Do’s for the Holiday Blues
By Heather Palacios
As the carol goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” But this time of year can also yield bouts of depression, or “blues.” When I have contended with the Holiday Blues, it has created an interesting contrast within: the blues of depression or grief, and the hues of snow-white wonder and evergreen nostalgia.
At the same time, in the same brain, I can have both gladness and sadness; laughter and tears; camaraderie and loneliness. You too? This holiday season, if this resonates with you, I’d like to share three things I have done. These aren’t professional tips from an expert’s textbook. Rather, just some personal life lessons from the school of hard knocks:
1. Go to Therapy. In my simple summation, therapy is the antidote for mental food-poisoning. If you have ever endured bodily food-poisoning, you know there is nothing more the body is begging for than a purge of the poison within. A therapy session is my mind’s antidote to purge the poison within. The pain, hurt, conflict, confusion, trauma, guilt—all the things—purged OUT in one hour with a therapist. Bonus? I don’t have to clean it up, I don’t have to pick it up, and I don’t have to carry it back home. Give yourself a Christmas
gift: schedule a therapy session. You might be thinking, “I’d love to, but I can’t afford it this time of year.” IDEA! When asked what you want for Christmas this year, tell your loved ones: “I’d like a 2-pack counseling session.” If it will bring joy to you, it will bring joy to them to give it.
2. Go to Church. When you have the Holiday Blues, going to gatherings can be daunting. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. But church is a different kind of gathering because the social part of it takes on a different shape. At church, I sit by you, I sing by you, but I am there with God. It’s a vertical-gathering. We are parallel to others but on a plumb line with God. For me, that dynamic has reduced my anxieties about attending. That dynamic has lowered the pressure to perform. And that dynamic has poured into me, not By Heather Palacios As the carol goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” But this time of year can also yield bouts of depression, or “blues.” When I have contended with the Holiday Blues, it has created an interesting contrast within: the blues of depression or grief, and the hues of snow-white wonder and evergreen nostalgia. Three To-Do’s for the Holiday Blues emptied. Yes you might have to drag yourself there, but you will leave better than you came. Bet!
3. Give to Others. Give old clothes to the homeless, give donations to your church, give time to the elderly, give free babysitting to a single mom, give your presence to people in the hospital, at a homeless shelter, in a behavioral facility or substance abuse treatment center. It is true that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I would also add, it’s more healing. It’s the ultimate paradox: giving. away. fills. up. I hope this encourages someone today.
Here’s to a hopeful Holiday and a beautiful, better New Year.
Love, Heather
Bio:
Heather is married to Raul Palacios, one of the pastors at Church By The Glades. Together they are raising two sons in Coral Springs, Florida. She is a graduate of Judson University with a degree in Business Management. Heather is a multiple suicide-attempt survivor who believes if you wake up breathing, that’s your proof to keep going.