[JIMMYJAM34]

This is something hits me every year on 26th December, I know its coming, I do my best to prepare but still it gets me.

I suppose it all builds from Halloween, we have Halloween which I enjoy and as soon as thats over all the Christmas adverts start, shops start putting up Christmas displays and playing Christmas music, then there is thanks giving for those in the US, then its back to Christmas mode with shopping for gifts, Christmas movies, Nativity plays etc all building up to the big day of 25th December, Christmas day itself is never as good as we imagine but as soon as its over its back to reality with a crash and thats what I feel now.

The weather is dark and grey and horrible with no fairy lights or decorations, damn all to look forward to for months and its back to normal life and another year of general hum drum and borning ness. I just feel like I want to lie in my bed as have no motivation for anything now.

Anyone else get like this? I never had this as a kid just as an adult.

Totally. It's that ugly mixture of the dead of winter and no holidays to look forward to until basically Spring. There is not nearly as much cheer and it's just kind of mopey all around. In all honesty I plan most of my trips/activites during January, February, and March. It helps to visit friends and stay busy.

[Fizzyo]

Join the club! I'm desperately hoping a bad day doesn't mean a bad month. Unicornsareamyth is right, planning events, even small ones to look forward to and at least mark the passage of time.

Our wedding anniversary is just before Christmas, so we now celebrate an 'official' one in January or February.

If the queen can celebrate an official birthday at a better time of year, so can we our anniversary.

Remember, Spring WILL come.

hoping these words help me as well as anyone else, if possible

[Fizzyo]

Hang on in there, Jimmyjam

[OldSouledHippie]

Originally Posted by JIMMYJAM34

This is something hits me every year on 26th December, I know its coming, I do my best to prepare but still it gets me.

I suppose it all builds from Halloween, we have Halloween which I enjoy and as soon as thats over all the Christmas adverts start, shops start putting up Christmas displays and playing Christmas music, then there is thanks giving for those in the US, then its back to Christmas mode with shopping for gifts, Christmas movies, Nativity plays etc all building up to the big day of 25th December, Christmas day itself is never as good as we imagine but as soon as its over its back to reality with a crash and thats what I feel now.

The weather is dark and grey and horrible with no fairy lights or decorations, damn all to look forward to for months and its back to normal life and another year of general hum drum and borning ness. I just feel like I want to lie in my bed as have no motivation for anything now.

Anyone else get like this? I never had this as a kid just as an adult.

I understand that

[basicgoodness]

I can relate to what you're saying. I have been on a downward spiral since the end of the holidays.

[A003]

I feel the exact same way.. Actually I feel this way every Monday after a good Sunday out. It's like back to reality

[AbladeintheMeadow]

I totally get where you're coming from, the last few Christmases have had the same effect on me. Almost to the point that I'm beginning to dread Christmas because I know how I'm going to feel afterwards.

I think for me it's the yo yoing between feeling happy & sad. Not sure how to explain it. I go through periods of depression, but there are close friends who know this, and even if I am feeling down being with those people lifts me. The problem being that the more uplifted I feel, the harder the crash the next day, or day after....and at Christmas because of the nature of the season it's an almost constant see saw of happy -v- down, and then when Christmas day has been & gone with all it's own stresses of the day - well the crash happens and I find it difficult to stop it happening & hard to climb out of.

This year I joined here shortly after Christmas because I felt it coming on again, and I have to be honest it seems to have really helped because I have somewhere to come, and I can either get help, or try & give help and at the moment that seems to work. I have also made a point of making arrangements to see the friends I have mentioned before the end of Jan so everytime I feel the slipping backwards feeling I focus on that and that seems to help too. I've written it on my calendar so I have a visual connection to refer to reminding me of what I have to look forward to. Again that seems to help when things are going awry.

Perhaps you could try doing something similar? Getting a couple of things planned, one for towards the end of Jan, maybe another for the end of Feb? Doesn't need to be expensive. It's just having something you enjoy to look forward to.

Hope this helps a little. Even if it's only knowing you're not alone in how you feel. Take care.

i relate to this a lot. it's like we spend all this time building ourselves up for the holiday, and then suddenly it's over. can lead to a lot of disappointment and unmet expectations.

[testudo]

Originally Posted by JIMMYJAM34

This is something hits me every year on 26th December, I know its coming, I do my best to prepare but still it gets me.

I suppose it all builds from Halloween, we have Halloween which I enjoy and as soon as thats over all the Christmas adverts start, shops start putting up Christmas displays and playing Christmas music, then there is thanks giving for those in the US, then its back to Christmas mode with shopping for gifts, Christmas movies, Nativity plays etc all building up to the big day of 25th December, Christmas day itself is never as good as we imagine but as soon as its over its back to reality with a crash and thats what I feel now.

The weather is dark and grey and horrible with no fairy lights or decorations, damn all to look forward to for months and its back to normal life and another year of general hum drum and borning ness. I just feel like I want to lie in my bed as have no motivation for anything now.

Anyone else get like this? I never had this as a kid just as an adult.

I am going through this right now. Not only is it the holidays, but my daughter's birthday is on Thanksgiving (well, she was born on Thanksgiving), my wife's birthday is on Christmas Day and my son's birthday is on Jan. 05. It is like going at 100 MPH and then a complete stop. It is and absolutely horrible feeling.

I haven't felt it this bad until this year. My little girl is now 4 and my little boy just turned 1. I am so depressed I cannot wrap my head around why. Everything around my house is intertwined from the past four years. I cannot pass pictures, art work, look at videos, watch certain movies, listen to certain songs, go into a bedroom or just even think about anything without totally and utterly breaking down. It starts first thing in the morning and goes all day. It is overwhelming and crippling.

I feel that I have missed everything that I am remembering, but I was there. I know that doesn't make any sense, but neither does the way I am feeling. I have nothing but happy memories to remember. It is driving me crazy!

[JIMMYJAM34]

Thanks for all the replies. Its a comfort to know I am not alone and others go through the same. To me it actually feels like mourning a loss or something and it takes time to get over it all. For me keeping busy has helped, I'm back at work 2 weeks now and it feels like Christmas/the holidays never happened. I mean it was only Christmas day what 3 weeks ago now? It feels like it was a lifetime ago.

I think its just the sudden stop that gets us, we focus on the holidays for months, it give us something to think about and takes our focus of ourselves, its full speed ahead at 100mph all though December then its just a sudden stop and thats it all over.

I happened to be in a local shopping centre on Christmas eve, they were starting to take all the decorations down and it made me sad, I mean the end was in sight, the crash was coming.

But hang in there all, keep yourselves busy and cruise through this ****** month.