Not feeling it
This year my husband and I won’t be hosting our annual neighborhood Christmas party, which involves weeks of decorating, planning, hand-wringing, fears that no one will actually show up, not to mention dusting the baseboards. We won’t be driving to Ohio with thousands of other highway travelers in a possible snowstorm to see relatives for a traditional Polish meatless Christmas Eve dinner that includes prunes, boiled potatoes and frozen breaded fish filets. I don’t have to cook a family dinner on Christmas day when I’d much rather be playing with the grandkids. There won’t be any forgotten gifts, rehashed arguments, hurt feelings or tantrums. Sounds good, right?
So why do I feel so stressed?
Meanwhile I highlighted my hair myself with one of those frosting kits, the kind where you pull strands of hair through the plastic cap and spread the pasty strong-smelling bleach over them. I haven’t done this in a long time. I guess the best part is I’ll still be wearing a mask when I go out and there are no Christmas parties to attend.
I know Christmas is supposed to be in your heart and all of that, but I’m just not feeling it this year.
The news doesn’t help
It’s true, I’ve drastically reduced my consumption of news to an hour a day, maybe two (okay, three if you include checking phone news alerts) simply because so much of the current state of politics infuriates me, from the mishandling of our nation’s cybersecurity and the resulting Russian hack, to the lack of a coherent pandemic response and help for hurting Americans. Things will get better come January 20 (they have to get better!) but it’s what might happen before then that worries me.
We’re all on a roller coaster
I understand my stress level, roller-coasting anger and frustration is outsized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated more than two in five U.S. residents are struggling with mental or behavioral health issues associated with the pandemic, including anxiety, depression, increased substance use and suicidal thoughts. Symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder have increased considerably since spring.
Add to that Christmas is a hard time of year for many people even in normal circumstances.
Typical solutions (such as these listed in the Post) include:
- Avoid unhealthy behaviors like drinking, smoking and overeating
- Don’t be too hard on yourself (easier said than done)
- Find ways to adapt. Try home exercise routines, practice good sleep hygiene and small dietary changes (more carbs?)
- Stay connected with people, even while physically distant (doing as much of that as possible)
- Moderate your media consumption. Take a social media break (trying)
Honestly, these ideas aren’t much more helpful than being told to take a bubble bath, light a lavender and chamomile-scented candle or write a letter to someone recently deceased that you’re missing.
Pass me the CBD gummies.
Speaking of the deceased, my husband and I picked out our gravesites in the Mount Avon Cemetery and updated our trust because, well, you never know. We’re in a pandemic.
Let it out
I like the campaign to improve people’s moods during the pandemic that was started by Iceland’s government called Let It Out. People all over the world were invited to record their screams online “to release their bottled-up frustrations.” The screams were played using huge speakers in some of Iceland’s most remote locations. According to the website, “screaming is a therapeutic tool and can be effective to release pent-up emotion.”
Try it. Tell me if it works for you.
Meanwhile, Donnie and I decorated a real Christmas tree. It smells wonderful. We hung lights outside the house, sent Christmas cards, bought and wrapped gifts, and hope to play with the grandkids outdoors. I hope to make cookies for neighbors. We go for evening walks in the neighborhood to look at the lights. We try to laugh as often and as loudly as we can. That might even be better than screaming.
By the way, my highlights really aren’t that bad. Just a little heavy-handed.
How are you coping?
Thank you for visiting Linda’s blog.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security