Although Christmas is considered the most beautiful holiday of the year, it is a stressful time for many people. The effort to fulfill one’s obligations at work and at the same time manage everything necessary at home, including Christmas shopping, creates pressure on a person. “We can spoil Christmas with nervousness and exaggerated expectations,” psychologist Eva Klimová pointed out in the TASR TV program Zdravie.
“When we’re exhausted at Christmas, we won’t be able to enjoy even those brief moments of peace,” she stated. According to her, people should realize that at Christmas everything doesn’t have to be perfect like in movies or Instagram photos. This is not the case even in ordinary life during the year. “Let’s relax, go for a walk, feel the atmosphere, meet people,” advises an expert.
According to her, people should avoid topics that cause conflict during family gatherings. “If we want comfort at the table, let’s not open topics that are critical, where we know that the family will not agree, let’s not talk about politics, the worldview of individual people, let’s not bring up old grievances,” added the psychologist.
According to the expert, it is good to make Christmas Eve really pleasant divide the tasks that need to be done before the holidays in advance. “It’s good to do it a list of things that need to be done, and then mark on it the ones that are really necessary,” she suggested. If a person does not live alone, according to her, the tasks in the household should be divided among its members.
The psychologist pointed out that Christmas is not only about spending time with the family, because many people live alone. “Loneliness, as such, is sometimes not an obstacle, and some people even want to enjoy peace at Christmas,” she added. It’s worse in cases where the feeling of loneliness sets in and people don’t have anyone around to share Christmas evening with.
“In many cities, community life is already starting, there are various communal dinnerswhere people can participate, possibly even come to help hand out Christmas dinner for the homeless or people in social need,” stated Klimová.
According to her, each of us can help friends or acquaintances overcome the feeling of loneliness during the holidays. “We can send a text message, a Christmas greeting or a wish to an acquaintance, people usually respond to it“, she advised. “The feeling of loneliness can also be eliminated with pleasant memories, for example by opening an album with photos or a nice movie“, she said.
If we cannot deal with grief on our own, or if we have more serious psychological problems, we have the option of calling one of the crisis lines and asking for the help of experts. “All holidays, when we experience stronger emotions, cause an onslaught on crisis lines. Crisis lines deal with depression or more serious anxiety and other conditions. Personally, I think that the line for seniors will also be busy,” estimated Klimová.
