Throughout our lives, we make decisions, big and small. These could deal with what we eat to what career field to go into, and who we marry and build a life with. There is a tendency to think we’re doing all this by ourselves for ourselves, but we may not have really thought about how much of our life trajectory and decisions are done for us by other people. This can lead us to doing things that don’t always align with what we truly want for ourselves.

The holiday seasons are time for festivities, family get-togethers, meeting friends, and just having a good time. With such merry mood and holiday spirits everywhere, some may not realise that there is such a thing as the holiday blues. It’s not an urban legend or a tall tale, it is a real problem that people go through during the holidays, and it can be very serious. It even has a name: seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

For many of us, Christmas and the holidays bring a little magic and joy back into our lives. For too many of us, there is still hurt and suffering that grows more intolerable this time of year. There are, however, some things we can do to care for ourselves, and maybe just end our own suffering, even for just long enough to celebrate the season of joy.