Beat The Holiday Blues.

By Lupita Franco Peimbert

(Holidays) – Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and all the parties in between are great opportunities to connect with others but also to connect with yourself. As it is usually the case, some people may not have many reasons to be merry and maybe dreading this whole thing, wishing it passes by as fast as it came.

We live in a society that promotes couplehood and when you do not fit that mold, you may feel,ess than, excluded, and subtlety looked Down at.

No worries. Here is what you can do:

Accept and love who you are right at this very moment.

You are lucky in more than one way. You are alive and I am absolutely sure you are more beautiful than you think and more loved than you feel. Short or tall, skinny or overweight, ugly or not, this is who you are: a beautiful human being capable of love and laughter. Do not pay attention to negative thoughts, do not compare yourself with others. This is you and this is your one and only life. Get it?

Have a routine for outdoors activities: walking, bike-riding, hiking.

Right now, commit to once a week, perhaps on Saturdays or on your day off, to do something that will get you out the door. Have a bike? go bike-riding. Visit the gym. Take a yoga class. Go for a hike, walk around the block, make it a once a day or a once a week. Forget about how cold it may be outside. Put it on your calendar. Commit to it. You will feel better, your mood will change for the better.

Cook something delicious. Indulge.

When was the last time you look for a recipe and made something delicious? How about that dish you used to make and everybody loved? Want to try a new recipe? Want to make something really healthy? Or a nice, sweet dessert? Get in the kitchen, make something, invite friends to enjoy it or eat it all by yourself. Indulge and do not feel guilty about it. The idea is to experience pleasure whether it is cooking or sharing food with others.

Remember 3 films you really loved. Watch them again.

All of us have seen a movie that touched our heart: one that inspired us or one that makes us remember better times and fond memories. Prepare the room for watching movies non-stop. How about A Christmas Story, Life is Beautiful, Pretty Woman or that international film you loved? Disney movies? (Heck yes) Pixar’s Toy Story, Up?

Schedule time to feel sad and lonely.

It sounds silly, doesn’t it? But it may work. For a change, set the alarm for 1 hour or 2 hours or more and cry, think about the past, re-live the great times you are now missing, feel the pain all the way until the alarm sounds off. Time is up and you now sit down, take a shower, drink a glass of water, get out of the house, get out and about or if you stay home, smile, choose your thoughts, move on for God’s sake!

Volunteer at a church, a shelter. Bring a meal to someone living on the streets. You will do as much for you as you do for other. Being of service, giving or sharing is powerful. It puts a smile in someone else. It brightens your spirit. What all human beings share is our humanity, precisely. We are similar in that we all feel joy and sadness, love, peace, distress, hope and a wide variety of emotions. We are one in that we are part of the human family living in this planet. Just remember that.

Have a fling. Take it as a Christmas gift from the universe. That is all I need to say.

Send or give Merry Christmas card to at least one person. Sit down. Write Christmas cards for friends, family, coworkers, the lady at the bakery, the barista at your favorite coffee shop. This tradition brings so much joy!

If you are single this Christmas, do not over-explain your situation. You are alone and that is okay. It not just okay. It can be great! Be alone, or be with people for Christmas. Organize your own party at home. Please change your attitude. Choose to be welcoming, strike a conversation, smile, open up to new, amazing experiences.

Christmas can be a Merry Christmas!