subject: How To Survive Christmas Loneliness [print this page] One of the most distressing things about the holidays is the prospect of having to spend Christmas alone. Loneliness at Christmas is a serious concern for many people, and the number seems to be growing every year. With more and more people moving away from their home towns, neglecting to keep in touch with friends and family, and technological innovations devaluing personal contact, loneliness at Christmas is something that you may have to face at some point.
Loneliness is undoubtedly a difficult condition to deal with, but its effects becomes even more pronounced around the holidays. With seemingly everyone around the world coming together in joy and revelry, being alone with no one to enjoy Christmas with can be quite depressing indeed. It is hardly surprising then that suicide is a fairly common occurrence around Christmas. For many people who are already depressed, loneliness at Christmas is just too much to bear on top of everything else, and it might be the one thing that will drive them to the edge of despair and beyond.
Although a bit of holiday loneliness is to be expected when Christmas comes around, there is no reason why your holidays should be ruined because of it. There are many things you can do to ease the pain of being alone, and if you plan things out thoroughly, you may not have to spend the holidays alone either.
First off, you can try reestablishing contact with old friends and family members you haven't take to in a while. Unless you've burned your bridges so badly that no one will want to have anything to do with you, there is a good chance that some people you haven't seen in a while will be glad to hear from you. If time and circumstances permit, you may even be able to sneak in a coffee date or have a drink together.
You also have the option to travel back home for the holidays. If you still have friends and family in your hometown, Christmas would be a great time to pay a visit. You might be surprised at how much things have stayed the same at home, especially if you have been gone a while. Even the experience of walking along the streets where you used to grow up or revisiting your old room may cheer you up to such a degree that Christmas loneliness will no longer be an issue.
Don't be too embarrassed to talk to someone for advice. Whether it is an old friend, a trusted family member, your rabbi, priest, or spiritual adviser, they will all have some useful advice on how you can prevent Christmas loneliness from getting the better of you.
In the worse case scenario, you may be suffering from full-blown depression that will come to a head around Christmastime. When this happens, the holiday loneliness can be too much for you to bear on your own. The best thing for you to do at this point would be to seek professional help, and the advice you get may be invaluable in more ways than one.
