Some people love Christmas. Other people really do not. Which are you? (FYI: I’m in the “love Christmas” category. I love the decorations and the lights. I sometimes even decorate my sisters’ houses!)
I believe there are 2 general factors that make up your “Christmas story” - the way you perceive Christmas - that determines whether you look forward to the season or dread it.
Why do you need to know this? Because Christmas isn’t going to disappear and if you dread the season, that’s a whole lot of unnecessary additional stress - the lead up to the season, the season itself, and the recovery from the season - every year! It’s like more than 1/12th of your year - which is 1/12th of your life - that you are dreading and stressing about!
By knowing these 2 factors that make up your “Christmas story”, you’ll be empowered to start re-writing it - perceiving it differently. It’s time to turn this 1/12th of your life into something less draining and more fulfilling.
Here are the 2 factors of your “Christmas story”:
1) Past events associated with Christmas.
If, in the past, you experienced one or more negative events regarding Christmas, then the season of Christmas can be a trigger for you.
For example, when you were 8 years old, all your cousins would be at Grandma and Grandpa’s for Christmas and no matter what you tried, none of your cousins would play with you. You felt left out, alone, and like something was wrong with you. For you now, Christmas is about not fitting in.
Another example, you can remember Mom and/or Dad being overwhelmed with buying gifts, getting the house decorated, making a meal, and a million-and-one other things, and all you really wanted was for at least one of them to ask you how your day went. You may have received the subtle message that preparing for Christmas was more important than the reason for it. For you now, Christmas is just a bullshit season when people fake being good people.
2) The rest of the year.
There is a line in an animated movie I recently watched called “That Christmas” that highlights this factor.
“I always think that Christmas is a bit like an emotional magnifying glass. If you feel loved and happy, Christmas will make you feel even happier and more loved. But if you feel alone and unloved, the magnifier gets to work and makes all those bad things bigger and worse.”
So, it may feel that Christmas is the cause of these emotions, but really these emotions were already there, but maybe just not as obvious.
Though the effects of the emotional magnifying glass of Christmas can be painful, making you dread the season, it can be a great opportunity to discover where deep healing is needed.
If you have negative past experiences associated with Christmas and/or unpleasant and unwanted emotions during the rest of the year that get magnified at Christmas, it is time to re-write your Christmas story so Christmas can bring you joy.
Book a free discovery call, here, to find joy in Christmas and during the rest of the year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Here’s to conquering stress.
With heart,
Louise
The Stress Experts
--
Did this blog help you?
Consider sharing it with someone who needs to hear it!
Have a question?
Let me know and I'll write a blog about it. Contact me!
Thanks for sharing your story of Christmas this year. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!