As the end of year holidays approach, it’s a good time to prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally for what is to come. At first glance, the holidays aren’t usually something we’d normally consider having to prepare for, unless we have a trip planned; and we tend to think this is a period of relaxation and fun. Coupled that with the coming new year, there is a tendency to assume there are things worth celebrating.

Typically, when someone is referred to as a commitment phobe, the general assumption is that they have an irrational fear of being in a committed, long-term relationship. While this can be true, a lot may be lost in that assumption.

Feeling overwhelmed is typically a sign that you have things going on in your life that you feel you have no capacity to properly manage. It’s normal from time to time to feel this way and can even be a signal for you to stop what you’re doing and start taking steps to alleviate yourself of things that may be contributing to you feeling this way.

We have often talked about how happiness is so important to so many of us and in the past, we’ve touched on what it looks like to sabotage our own happiness.

Anxiousness over the future is something that is common and pretty much everyone has to deal with it in some capacity or another. It’s called anticipatory anxiety and is seen as a common response to uncertainty over what is to come. While it can sometimes feel overwhelming and uncomfortable, some degree of worry over the future can actually help us to better prepare ourselves for the uncertainty. Worry about the future can be an issue once it becomes excessive.

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.

Couples argue; sometimes they argue very heatedly. It will happen at some point for all relationships. Disagreements, and working through them is a part of being in a committed relationship with someone. The problem comes when the fights do not solve anything, when they get mean, and when they go off topic.