“‘tis the season to be jolly…” so we are led to believe, as it’s carolled from what seems like an eternity until the inferred ‘magical’ one day event is upon us.

Can you tell I’m not very Christmassy? 🙂

I’m not really a Grinch, and I do feel a festive flutter or two much nearer the date, but as a counsellor I know full well that for some, Christmas – and all that it represents – can be one of the most difficult times of the year. There’s just something about the message of Christmas that twangs emotional nerves if the reality is far from the John Lewis advert image, and I’d hazard a guess that there are more people in the former than the latter.

Life doesn’t pause for Christmas time. Loss, separation and divorce, fractured family relationships, the financial burden. I don’t ever recall seeing any of these scenes depicted on a glittery boxed set of Christmas cards, yet these realities can feel heightened at a time when messages all around us are telling us we ‘should’ be having a ball. And don’t even get me going on the word ‘should’…

From experience, Christmas for some is a time to get through. To tolerate. To more keenly feel loss. A time that has to be endured before the New Year, when the slate can be mentally wiped clean and a little hope may shine through for better to come.

I always hold a thought for my clients at this time of year, and others like them, and if you’re reading this and any of the above applies, I really do hope you hear that someone does know and understands.

Season greetings, Debs