Christmas blues

Have been feeling pretty down the last few days. Christmas isn't a happy time for me. Will be glad when it's over and gone. 

Have decided not to communicate with my daughter for about a month as every time she texts or emails it's a hissy fit at me about something. That will of course include Christmas and new year holidays. I know I've done the best I can and I know my daughter leaving (albeit in a fit of anger) was the right course of action. And I know it's the third time she's done this in 7 years, but having my own daughter not wanting to have anything to do with me still hurts, especially at this time of year. I'm not alone in feeling like this about it:

Yet, while Christmas is a happy experience for some, it can be far from it for others. A major case of the holiday blues can be brought on by the knowledge that it will be a Christmas without a loved one, or perhaps it will be marred by conflict and family tension, the weight of financial pressures or simply the realisation that another year has passed in a less-than-fulfilling marriage or job.

Whatever the cause for your festive unhappiness, it doesn’t have to be that way. The most important step to achieving contentment at Christmas is to stop acting cheery when you’re not. That’s the opinion of US public speaker and author Dr Dain Heer.

"There’s this holiday myth that Christmas is a happy time for everyone," the former chiropractor says. "If you’re happy over the holidays, then that’s great and that’s the way it could be and ought to be, but what I’ve found is that there are a lot of people who are unhappy during the holidays, even if just for a short time, and they don’t acknowledge it and realise, hey, I’m not alone here." more

Wish me luck. It's Christmas eve here and I have to shop at the supermarket :/