Seven things to keep you from falling into the Holiday Blues by John Seeley

Each holiday season there is an expectation from people to reconnect with friends and loved ones. But what if your family is far away, or you don’t have people to reconnect with? Being alone during the holidays is often something that people don’t prepare for and find themselves depressed, and in the extreme, suicidal. It’s important to prepare in advance to keep the blues away. If you know that you’ll be alone, there are things to do to make the holidays merry.

Plan a group activity to invite others to do, so you will have others to share time with during the holidays. Perhaps a support group for others that are alone too!

Volunteer doing something for helping others. There is a lot of need to help less fortunate during the holidays, including delivering food to shut-ins, soup kitchens, helping at hospitals to cheer up patients, etc. Giving is a great way to feel better about yourself, and you meet others who are volunteering, and make new friends who are giving too.

Plan a trip or vacation for the holidays. Group trips doing something that you enjoy, like scuba diving, antiques, cruising, etc., are available through travel agents or on the web.

Get more active in a church or local community. Often holidays are a great time to reconnect to a community. There often are holiday events like plays, singing, charity parties or auctions, etc. sponsored by churches or communities.

See a professional therapist to help you to work through any issues that may be keeping you from experiencing the happiness you desire. Often your feelings that you repress all year come up during times when extra stress come up, often during the holidays. So do yourself a favor, seek some professional help to release the emotional baggage you’ve been carrying. Your whole life will improve.

Talk to people. Talk to your family. Talk to your friends. Do it regularly. Look up old friends. Heal old relationships. It’s good for your heart and soul to do that, anytime, but especially around the holidays. Remember they might need to heal that issue too. You don’t have guarantees that friendships will be rekindled, or relationships healed, but you never know how it might affect your life positively either. Holidays are a time to heal. Take advantage of that.

Remember that regrets are usually from things you didn’t do. Use the holidays to create something different in your life. Einstein said “To continue doing the same thing, expecting different results, is insanity.” If you want different results, do something different. Believe that you can change your life. Believe it can be better. Know miracles happen. If you believe in a higher power, pray for the change you want. Be willing to give up what you have now, and know it will be better. Remember, in order to become a butterfly, you have to give up being a caterpillar.