S.S.A.D. – It’s a real thing people and it’s an epidemic. Think you may have it? See if you answer YES to more than 3 of these questions below. And please don’t stress over your answers.
- 1. When you hear Christmas music on the radio does your eye start to twitch and your stomach start to ache?
2. Do you spend hours price comparing, selecting and creating a family Christmas card? Do you berate yourself for the inability to just pick one and move on? Do you take so long that you end up debating whether you should just turn them into Happy New Year’s Cards?
3. Do you have fantasies about setting up death scenes for your creepy, smirking adorable elf?
4. Does putting up Christmas lights end up in your children learning new and colorful curse words while Daddy mumbles that he better go find Mommy a drink?
5. Do you feel an urge to slap people who insist on cheerily telling you how many days are left until Christmas?
6. Do you have OCD, where the constant layer of glitter and pine needles on your floors, clothes and walls makes you feel more upset than a Kardashian sister who can’t find her eyeliner?
7. Do you worry you might be developing early onset dementia when you know you hid presents you bought but struggle to remember where?
8. Do you overthink your gift selections? Obsess over whether the school teacher prefers Dunkin Donuts versus Starbucks? Do you try to ask your kids if they know? (By the way…they don’t and will look at you like you are crazy if you ask.)
9. Does planning a holiday meal menu sound about as appealing as cleaning your toilets?
10. Do you have nightmares about family members stealing your special sharp scissors, running out of scotch tape or wrestling with cheap wrapping paper?
11. Did Pottery Barn Kids send you a catalog with a $4,000 Star Wars Millennium Falcon Bed on the cover? Did your kid add it to their list to Santa? Are you tempted to write a note to Pottery Barn telling them they suck?
12. Are you already trying to clean stuff out of your home because you have no idea where all this new stuff that no one needs is going to go?
13. Do you buy extra candles, wine and gift cards because you have F.O.F.S.? (Fear of Forgetting Someone…usually the mailman/trashman/busdriver/coach/babysitter etc…
Bonus question –
*14 . Do you feel extra guilt over not being able to relax and enjoy the holiday season?
Don’t worry. You are not alone. At least 50% of the population feels this way. Probably more but they don’t want to admit it for fear of looking like a potential date for Mr. Grinch. It’s not that I don’t love Christmas. I love the colors of Christmas, I love the warm and cozy fires, the sense of excitement, that look on a child’s face on Christmas Eve. I even love that Johnson and Johnson commercial, you know the one that plays that extra slow and soothing version of Silent Night, while showing images of sweet little infants and babies sleeping peacefully. What I don’t love is my own inability to overcome the anxiety that sits on my chest like an elephant as soon as I start to see trees for sale. It’s my own damn fault and I hate it. Why can’t we get out of our own way?
*Insider Tip – Embrace the mistakes.
Think about the stories you sit around and tell to your family and friends, the ones that make you belly ache with laughter. They are often the ones about things that didn’t go as we expected. Nobody laughs with the family reminiscing a perfectly placed table setting. It is so much more fun to remember the dinner where you let your young children set the table and all the silverware was backwards. I once had friends over last minute and served them apple slices and goldfish, and yes I’m totally serious. But it was all I had and we still ate it and had fun. My sister and her husband have a saying that I love. It’s sarcastic in that it is usually uttered when you are crammed into a car with screaming (kids) and crying (adults), a carsick dog and a spilled bag of pretzels. The say “We’re making memories!!”, and boy are we ever.
The same goes with clothes. Ease up on yourself. Keep it easy. Make sure you have a go to black dress on hand for unexpected outings. Not a dress girl? A black cashmere sweater or wrap, paired with black leggings or pants and fabulous and fun jewelry is a great fall back. Make sure you have at least one pair of fun, fabulous feel good shoes. No need for perfection. Step away from the mirror and into your life, because the beauty lies in a life well lived.
Thanks for reading!
Suzie
All pics from Pinterest.
