For many people, Christmas represents a happy, cheerful and blissful time surrounded by family and friends, but for many others, this time is a sad time in which the feeling of loneliness increases. How to deal with loneliness at Christmas? What to do to enjoy these dates even if you don’t have loved ones around you? In this article we have spoken with Dafne Catalunya, psychologist and founder of the European Institute of Positive Psychology to answer all these questions. A lot of attention!
Advice from a psychologist to deal with loneliness at Christmas
- There are many people who spend Christmas alone either because they are elderly people who do not have children or family or people who live abroad and cannot return to their native country on these dates. In any case, it is difficult to manage loneliness at this time, but not impossible.
- “One of the things that can help people who spend Christmas outside their native country and away from their loved ones is to strengthen the strength of curiosity through discovering the traditions of the country in which they are,” recommends the psychologist Dafne Catalonia.
- Actually, if you are going to spend this Christmas alone, there are many things you can do to make it more bearable:
- Take advantage of new technologies to connect remotely with your loved ones: nowadays social networks and applications such as WhatsApp have shortened distances. It is true that seeing yourself through a screen is not the same as having real, physical contact, but a good chat with a family member or friend over a video call at Christmas can remind you that you have loved ones you can count on and enjoy.
- Sign up for some activity – You can do this at Christmas or any other time of the year if you feel lonely. The simple fact of signing up for the gym, for example, or for English or computer classes or handicrafts can help you meet people with whom you can establish new relationships. Also with the extra advantage that you will enhance your hobbies and skills!
- Boost positive thoughts: in addition to group activities, Christmas is a good time to dedicate yourself to all those individual activities that make you feel good: reading, listening to music, watching movies, taking a walk in the countryside… Focus your free time on do what you like. That will make you feel valuable and you will be able to drive away the negative thoughts that loneliness generates.
- Meditate: Practicing Mindfulness can help you see life from different perspectives, have a greater ability to manage your emotions, and deal with different situations that come your way in a calmer and more objective way.
- Cultivate solidarity: at Christmas there are a lot of centers and NGOs that need help from volunteers. Don’t you think this is a good time to offer to collaborate with a soup kitchen, for example? This way you can be close to other people and, in addition, giving them a hand will enrich you too.
- If you feel that your loneliness prevents you from being happy and moving forward, if you feel that your discomfort is increasing at times and that you enjoy life and those activities that you were passionate about before, less and less, the best thing you can do is go to a professional, a psychologist. The specialist will be able to adapt a therapy to your specific circumstances, there is always a way out!
Does Christmas sharpen the feeling of loneliness?
When loneliness is NOT chosen, Christmas can increase the negative sensations associated with loneliness, but the psychologist Dafne Cataluña clarifies: “it seems that because it is a special date we are obliged to feel a certain way. And the more we try, the less we succeed.”
If there is something that is preventing us from living Christmas with joy, it is because there is something that is not right. “It is important to listen to our emotions and decide what to do with them: if we pay attention to them to solve it at that moment or if we postpone them and take advantage of the moment we are living”, advises Dafne.