Posted by Dinah on November 25, 2006, at 9:50:04
In reply to Re: Just So Sad - slight trigger, posted by Daisym on November 24, 2006, at 23:55:13
Daisy, I don't know if I have anything of value to say. I'm not feeling very capable of being helpful right now.
I don't know if your marital home was anything like my parents. But at my home growing up, the Christmas season was both magical and awful. Magical because a few days before Christmas, my father's mood would lift, and he'd be the happiest he'd be all year until a few days after New Years. And awful because the stress would have him and my mother fighting worse than usual.
I know it's hard to face Christmas for the first time in your own apartment, with a divided family. But if your family was like mine, there might be a brand new peace to Christmas that you might find more in keeping with the season.
It's going to be hard, no doubt. Change is always hardest at the time of year when tradition rules. But maybe it'll be a time of year to carve out new traditions. Ones that are meaningful to you in this stage of your life, and that will remain meaningful as you continue to grow and blossom. Maybe traditions having to do with hope. I know you aren't feeling hope, but it's amazing how those traditions work sometimes in instilling a bit of the qualities you might need to pretend at first.
Can you think of anything even marginally related to Christmas that you can incorporate as a symbol of peace and hope that would be meaningful to your own journey? You have a real knack for that. I've always been impressed with your ability to choose meaningful gifts for your therapist. Could you choose a meaningful gift for yourself?
poster:Dinah
thread:706781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20061123/msgs/707020.html