I hate christmas, its nothing but anxiety and misery for me.

Hey Oldal, I hear you. I don't hate Christmas but then I have found a way to tolerate it. I figure that it amounts to at least 2 months of commercial madness & most people are like the buffalo or lemmings. They just follow the herd or the flock. First, thing, I buy 1 little thing for my wife & she buys me one little thing. No debt & no crying when those credit card bills come on January 21st.

Today we'll go to my wife's niece's place for a nice dinner. They are the mad consumer; I just smile at all the junk they have scattered all over the house. We'll come home & watch TV tonight. Tomorrow will be a quiet lunch together at home since our family is pretty small. In another life, I used to go to midnight mass. No more of that stuff! No church service either but that is another story.

I don't mind the lights outside the homes but I smile at the buy, buy, buy mentality for what the advertisers tell us is "the greatest day of the year". To me, Christmas is a war zone. On one side we have the stores with their advertising budgets trying their best to get as much money out of us. On the other side of no man's land, is me, trying his best not to buy the junk they are telling me to buy. The nice thing is that I have been winning the war for the last 15 years. Guess, I'm a bit of an outlaw. I like to think for myself. When the lemmings go over the cliff, I stop & say, "hey, I'm not going. I don't need to swim out on that ocean of debt. I want to stay on dry land where it's better". Have a good day, there Oldal, all things pass!
 
oldal said:
My family lives with me, they will be going out both tomorrow and Christmas day. Anxiety level is near the breaking point
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I'm sorry to hear this,

but I'm not entirely sure what's causing your severe anxiety?.. we're here to listen if you want to share with us. :)
 

Christmas will be a quiet day at home for me and my SO. A couple of small gifts, an easy late lunch, and a phone call to my son to wish him the best. No anxiety/misery/stress. No need to criticize how others spend the day or their money or their time.

Merry Christmas to all of you who choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Happy Holidays to everyone!
 
oldal,

Try to keep calm and carry on.

If things start to get rough stop in from time to time and see what the folks at SF are up to, the door is always open and the light is always on thanks to Matrix and his elves.

Tomorrow I'll be making a small but potent batch of eggnog for one, tune in to hear what the Queen has to say, enjoy a quiet lunch, a nice nap, a quiet evening and then on to the 26th!

Merry Christmas!
 
I think that I remember that Oldal wrote before that he was having anxiety because everyone was gone, and he was left home alone. It might not be Christmas per se that is the issue here, but that is a time when everyone else will leave and he is left home by himself for an unknown length of time.
I agree that checking in here at the forum is an excellent idea, and it will at least give you people to talk with while you are waiting for your family to return home again.
 
Hi Odal, Christmas eve and Christmas don't have to be bad for you. Hallmark channel has the Yule Log on tonight starting at 5pm tonight. It's a very relaxing thing to watch I have found and I am one who, too, also suffers from anxiety. You won't be the only one alone, I am too and so are many on this forum.

There are going to be times when people won't be there for us. I wasn't feeling crazy about this holiday either for the past few years since all my relatives have gone and left the state to be with other family. I had to realize that's what they need to do to enjoy their lives and I do want them to enjoy themselves.

So I entertain myself by keeping busy, cooking a nice meal for me and my little dog (to have a nip of). I also am going to put my stereo on with some nice relaxing instrumental music. I wish I had some eggnog. That would be something I'd enjoy, too.

It doesn't have to be so bad. They will be back. Do you have anyone you can also call to talk to? We are all here for you and hoping and wishing all the best to you. Merry Christmas. 💗 🤗
 
No stress for me; thank goodness. You sure can get stressed out if you allow the advertisers lie to you that this is the "greatest day of the year" & you should feel bad because you didn't get that 84' Smart TV under the tree or that brand new pickup truck you think you need. Don't really know what all this darn fuss is about. It's just another day to me because I'm retired so I don't have to work. LOL
 
Zero stress for me. I’m just chillin’ Having some hazelnut flavoured coffee which I quite like. Husband not so much.

Believe it or not today I’m helping put down a porcelain tile floor. Will walk the dogs, play with them and then sing & play my saxophone before eating a delicious turkey dinner. Perhaps I’ll make some gluten free Yorkshire puddings. I love those things.

Have a wonderful 🎄 Christmas oldal
 
Hello oldal, I hope your feeling better today my friend. Years ago, I read a book called "I'm Okay, Your Okay." The most helpful thing I took away from the book is to break down difficulties into smaller segments. For example, "I can't handle this "insert situation" for a entire day, I can't handle it for an hour, but I can handle it for a minute at a time." I'm new here and don't want to jump into the middle of a conversation or sound like a know-it-all, I only mention this as it helps me when I feel overwhelmed and thought it might be helpful.

An old boss also had a saying he would use when ever we encountered a difficult project, "You have to eat that elephant one bite at a time."
 
Panic attacks are the number one reason why people find themselves on different types of medications. If I was a drinker, I would recommend just getting drunk and staying drunk for the next 2 days, but that isn’t necessarily a good idea.

I told you this before that you need to get yourself to a professional that deals in psychology and figure this thing out. In the interim, if things get too bad, so that you feel that you are near a breaking point, you may want to consider going to the E-room at the hospital.

Panic attacks are real fear to the sufferer. They think they are ill or dying and no one is around to help them. “Oh my. What should I do?” No one thing works for everyone that has panic attacks. I knew a fellow that when he would feel one coming on would go outside and jog around his house. He told me that after he did that for 3 or 4 times, the attack would be over.

I once was patrolling the PA Turnpike and came upon a vehicle off to the side of the road. There is no stopping or standing allowed along the Turnpike, except where there are pull offs. When I approached the driver and asked him what was the problem, he told me that he was having a panic attack, but it would soon pass.

I then asked him how he knew it would soon pass. He told me because he also suffered from PTSD and has had several attacks over the years. He also said that he takes a medication called Clorazepate, (I’m reading from my journal), and it takes about 40 minutes for it to kick in.
Maybe suggest this to your GP.
 
@oldal , sorry to hear you have to be alone during the holidays, I hope you're feeling a bit better today. Remember, there are always nice folks here around the clock to chat with or read their posts or listen to the music videos. Thinking of you today. :)

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@oldal
I am thinking of you, also, in addition to everyone else here.
It is a very rough time for many people, and for you, with your situation, I understand.

I hope you will drop in here, sometime today, or if you are not feel like writing or posting, then I hope you peek in, anyway, just to see and know that many of us are thinking of you.
 
Buckeye said:
OldAl - Hope your day is going better than you expected! Turn on Turner Classis Movies and try to have yourself a merry little Christmas.
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You're kidding right..?....I flipped on TCM, and the only thing playing was those sappy Christmas movies.......Not exactly a pick-me-up....... :rolleyes:
 
rgp said:
You're kidding right..?....I flipped on TCM, and the only thing playing was those sappy Christmas movies.......Not exactly a pick-me-up....... :rolleyes:
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HAHAHAHA! My husband would agree with you. So much so that I think he was almost glad he was sick today so he didn’t have to watch any sappy harlequin romance Christmas movies. 🥳😝lol
 

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