We’ve rounded the corner– the shortest day of the year is behind us. Slowly but surely, more and more light will now begin to roll in to our days and nights.
For some, this is predictable good news. Longer hours of light and sunshine mean more hours to be outside and a boost in energy overall. The course has changed to downhill, and perhaps your wheels are turning a bit more easily now. The darkest, longest days are over and the hardest part may feel like it is behind you.
As the presents under the Christmas tree piles up, and yet more are to come since grandma and grandpa have not yet arrived with their armful of gifts; feeling overwhelmed is common. Even if this is all very exciting and joyful, we forget that it is still an overwhelming emotion and we can easily be tipped over to feeling anxious. This theory applies to all of us, of all ages. Therefore, wouldn’t it be important to keep an even keel anticipation for all?
For many of us, the holidays are characterized by feelings of joy and hope. Shared meals with family and friends, Christmas gatherings with colleagues, gift giving, and religious rituals that recall a spiritual promise of anticipation and new life mark the holiday season. For others, however, finding happiness and hope during the holidays is more challenging. Family discord, loneliness, and financial hardship make us feel more ‘blue’ than joyful, more despairing than hopeful.
One could argue that December is the most festive month of the year. Religious holidays are observed, vacations are taken and students have a respite from their school and course work. December 21st is the longest night of the year and marks the beginning of longer daylight hours. It is a month that marks the end of one year and the beginning of the next – a time for resolutions and a promise of new experiences. Celebrations abound, it is easy to forget that December also marks the end of the grace period and the beginning of student loan payments for those (like myself) who graduated 6 months earlier.
Awareness of Autism is growing, which is good in that the earlier the diagnosis, the earlier and more intensive the intervention which often results in better outcomes. However, with awareness has also come anxiety about prevalence, false positives in diagnosing, and misinformation about cause and the desire for an easy explanation (i.e. the whole vaccines cause Autism debacle).
As we are in the throes of holiday preparation, the majority of us are short fused and forgetful. This is definitely due to the amount of holiday shopping, stressed out shoppers & sales reps. Of course, not forgetting the upcoming family drama that you will be involved in or thrown into. As much as we feel cheered by the holiday carols, it definitely is not easy to enjoy it with a peaceful heart. We always wonder if is there a way around this. Maybe there is and maybe there is not. Let’s read on to see if there is a way we can make it feel slightly easier.
