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06-12-2020 03:57 PM
06-12-2020 03:57 PM
Christmas time blues
Hi all forum friends. That time of year where family comes together to celebrate life love and all we are grateful for, and there are many things I am grateful for. Last Christmas was spent with my daughter having a severe psychosis and this year she is in hospital undergoing intense treatment for her schizophrenia and will remain there until March at the earliest. She is also refusing any communications from me. So I'm finding it pretty dam hard to get into the spirit of things and my mind keeps drifting back to happier Christmases past desperately wishing things were different but knowing things will never be the same again. Are there other members struggling this time of year due to a loved one with mental health issues. I wish you all peace love and better days ahead and a Merry Christmas 🎄 xx
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07-12-2020 10:24 AM - edited 07-12-2020 10:34 AM
07-12-2020 10:24 AM - edited 07-12-2020 10:34 AM
Re: Christmas time blues
Hi @Krishna,
Christmas can be a really hard time of year for many people and I'd say you're definitely not the only one! It's really tough when what makes Christmas for you isn't possible for whatever reason or it looks different to how you'd like it to be due to factors outside your control. It's ok to not feel the Christmas cheer- if it's not there, it's not there. That's just how it is right now. Something I've learnt is that trying to fight feelings, or trying to force myself to feel the opposite, can make it worse, so the best thing I can do is to give myself permission to feel exactly what it is I'm feeling, to sit with it and ride out the wave (as hard as that might be) and do what I need to do, whether that be reminisce, mourn what was, distract myself or try to find new ways to make Christmas feel good or cheerful in ways I can control.
@outlander has also started a great thread about activities you might find of interest here