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Tis The Season To Be Jolly . . .

Christmas, it’s a time for celebration, food, festivities friends, family and general merriment. For most people it literally is the most wonderful time of the year and one that I’ve been known to embrace fully! See below pic! I love nothing more than a good carol session, panto, Christmas market, Crib service and I’ve been known to rock a Christmas jumper or two!

But this year Christmas felt different and it gave me a really harsh reminder that Christmas for some people is actually the most isolating and lonely time of the year.

I have a 70/30 (in my favour) joint custody of my 5 year old daughter. This year I faced the devastating reality of Christmas without her. Suddenly Christmas didn’t seem like a day I wanted to celebrate or even acknowledge. Christmas for me, isn’t about the amount of presents you get, it certainly isn’t worth putting yourself in debt for. It’s also not about having the latest ‘must have gadget’ to parade on your social media. For me it’s about spending it with people that make you feel good, it’s about giving to those less fortunate than ourselves, completing a good deed and making time for those we love.

Not having my daughter on Christmas day meant that I couldn’t spend the day with the one person who, means more to me than all others. Even though I would’ve been more than welcome, as a result I didn’t want to inflict my un-Christmas spirit on my family. I knew spending the day on my own would have been the worst thing in the world for my mental state, so I started to look into volunteering opportunities as I knew it would give me the distraction I need with a hefty dose of feel good on the side! After many, many tense conversations with my daughters Dad we’ve thankfully been able to come to an agreement where we both get the most out of our time with her this Christmas. We both get to share in our daughters Christmas day. My Christmas spirit was restored!

However it didn’t stop me thinking about other people who find this time of year particularly tough for many different reasons and how they could they possibly be helped through the next few weeks?

Christmas provides the perfect excuse to reach out and connect with those that have perhaps disappeared off the radar for a while. It’s also a chance to check on the elderly neighbour down the street by simply dropping them off a Christmas card. It also provides an excuse to get together and just talk, have fun!

Not only will I be doing the above, I will also be looking after my mental well-being by catching up on some much needed sleep, trying to keep the Xmas goodies consumption in some sort of moderate range (with the exception of Friday night . . .it’s girls night . .. I’d been lying to myself and you, if I didn’t acknowledge there will be copious amounts of Gin and nuggets!) This body wasn’t made munching on carrots and I’m a sucker for a mince pie!

I’ll be walking of said mince pie’s in our local woods mainly in attempt to tire out an incredibly excitable 5 year old and ensuring we have time just to chill in amongst all the chaos.

I will also be spending it with people who make my soul feel good. It’s more than fine to distance yourself from people that bring you negativity. I would also highly recommend you leave those people in 2018!

However you’re spending your Christmas make sure you are looking after yourself and staying connected. Make time for you and look out for others. I wish you all a happy, mentally healthy Christmas xxx

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