CLB 026: Loneliness Over the Holidays

Do you experience loneliness over the holidays?

It’s that season again. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas it’s hard not be touched in some way by the festivities and sentiment of the season. I mean we’re inundated with it – Christmas music playing on the radio and in the department stores, Christmas lights hung on your neighbors’ homes, Santa Claus greeting kids at your local mall.

And, it’s also a time when loneliness seems to become magnified. For some people, the weeks leading up to the holidays can be the most painful of the year.

It may be from memories of deceased loved ones. For me, this will be the first Christmas without both of my grandparents joining us at the dinner table. It feels very strange and sad to think of that.

Often the so-called “magic” of the holiday season we anticipate fails to meet our expectations. It’s just not what we hoped for.

And one of the unfortunate complications of the holiday season is an added layer of guilt and frustration – that you can’t enjoy the holidays like you should be able to – like everyone else is doing. So not only do you feel bad, you feel guilty about feeling bad.

I get it.

What I want to share in this episode is a message of hope: to offer some steps to help you find the real answer to loneliness and make getting through this holiday season a little easier.

Key Points Re: Loneliness Over the Holidays

* Loneliness is part of the human experience. There’s no way of getting around that. The good news is there are steps you can take to lessen its impact on you…

* Step 1: Clarify Your Vision and Devote Time to Doing So Every Day

* Step 2: View the Holidays as a Great Time for Self Care and Treatment

* Step 3: Re-Frame Your Expectations

* Step 4: Intentionally Connect

* Step 5: Get Outside and Move

* Step 6: Love Yourself

Episode Transcript

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Home Play

Rather than homeplay I’d like to offer you a personal message…

If you are by yourself over the holidays, I want you to know that, even in another way still, you are not alone. I want to share what I believe (maybe you won’t agree and that’s okay)… I believe that through our shared experience of social anxiety or depression or loneliness that we are brought together and because of that we are not alone. Through our shared experience of this podcast we are brought together.

Sure, we’re not physically together and I may not even know your name, but I don’t think it necessarily has to work that way. Energy, prayer… whatever you wish to call it has a power I don’t think we’re really even fully aware of yet.

So, with your permission and openness to receiving it, know that I’m thinking about you, and sending you warm wishes and good energy.

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