When I went to medical school, I decided I had to learn German. I bought the first German textbook I could lay my hands on and thought I would translate the book and, by the end of the book, I would be able to understand German. It turned out this book was a medical text on alcoholism. I never forgot the first sentence: “Alcohol enhances the prevailing mood.” In other words, if you are happy when you start drinking, when you get drunk you will be happy drunk. If you are morose when you start drinking, you will only be more morose. It is like that with the Christmas holidays. For people who are lonely, feel left out of things or desperate to be a part of something, the holidays will be a painful time for them; seeing other people joyous, loving, connected, etc. In fact, the suicide rate goes up during the holidays for certain kinds of people.
The answer is, before the holidays, get connected! You could be connected by helping out at a program for homeless people; putting on a Santa Claus suit and visiting kids in a hospital or looking through the Internet and you will find thousands of groups for whatever your particular interest is. In other words, the answer is, basically get “out of yourself” and rejoin the human race and realize how lucky you are to be alive before the holidays start.
