“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, in the lane, snow is glistening A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland,” go the lyrics by Dick Smith and Felix Bernard from their 1934 carol. But what about the millions of other people who, will, this Christmas season, be walking alone down that cold and barren snow covered path?
There are some definite benefits to spending the holidays alone:
5) Efficiency: No need to clean the apartment as no one will be visiting.
4) Frugality: No need to purchase any Holiday decorations as no one will be visiting the apartment.
3) Health-Conscious: No need to purchase any gluttonous amounts of food, thus one will be able to maintain their figure throughout the holiday season.
2) Money Management: No need to spend enormous amounts on holiday gifts that will not be given in mutually friendly exchanges.
1) Self-Affirmation: With all the money saved from not spending anything on holiday fare this season, one can spend money on themselves or work to pay off other debts they have.
Other benefits are the ability to spend as much time in front of the Television watching classic Holiday programming; the ability to spend as much time on hobbies as desired, without the interruption of the Holiday season; ability to accept or reject any party invitation on the grounds that one is morally superior to the Holiday noise.
All jests aside, the holidays serve as yet another reminder of people’s relationship status – and their relationship handicaps, weather for the good or evil. There is more depression this time of year than normal for a variety of reasons, frustration at single status; lack of sunlight due to the tilt of the earth, longer night time hours, and the frequent remaining inside due to the freezing temperatures outside; monetary concerns; and normal year end depression that accompanies the fact that another year has passed and numerous goals have not been met.
Psychologists agree that it is important to keep spirits high during this time period, and have advocated keeping one’s self active through the holidays to help avoid, or at least lessen, the holiday and post-holiday depression. Several tips have been provided for people to get through the holiday season with minimal depressive tendencies.
1) Keep active: Weather it be in a hobby, a study session, or general business – preparing the house for guests, cooking, or procurement of holiday gifts, keeping active keeps the mind off depressive issues.
2) Intermingle: Despite the claims that all shoppers are ravenous beasts, it is a good idea to keep socially active during the holiday season even if that means going to holiday parties alone. The more opportunities you make yourself available for, the more likely you will wind up finding a significant other, and may be pleasantly surprised at what you find under your Christmas Tree Christmas morning.
3) Indulge: Be sure to take part in the festivities, and try not to be overly concerned with your level of caloric intake. During the holidays it is common to put on several pounds as the cold has a tendency to make fat retention in mammals more pronounced, be certain that most of these holiday pounds will shed in time.
4) Recognize Limits: Set a budget both monetarily and time-wise and do your best to stay within those limits. A big cause for holiday and post-holiday depression is both monetarily related (an unwelcome increase in debt) and a lack luster holiday filled with events not suited to one’s mood. By budgeting these out ahead of time one is better able to stay with their limits and maximize their performance during the holiday season.
5) Learn to Overlook the Negative: There is a lot of negativity flowing around during the Holiday season. Focusing on the good aspects of the Holiday season is necessary to help alleviate much of the depression. If one spends the entire time obsessing over negative aspects, one can not help but to be depressed, as the spirit of the holidays being positive, has completely passed one up.
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