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Here’s how to survive a blue Christmas

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I once made up my mind to get a divorce on Christmas morning. My alcoholic husband had not come home. It wasn’t the first time, and Christmas wasn’t his holiday, but this was my Christmas morning. It wasn’t what I deserved, and it wasn’t what my little girl deserved.
Another Christmas, my heart hurt so badly I could barely go outside. My new baby had died. I had his blanket, but he was gone. I didn’t want to live because it hurt too much. And Christmas— every image of Mary holding baby Jesus— made me cry again.
When your heart is broken, Christmas can really hurt. It’s easy to drown in false family images and media hype. It feels impossible to swim against the tsunami of “should’s” and “if only’s.”
Here’s how to survive a blue Christmas.
 1. See the hype for what it is.
The first step is to see the media hype for what it is: lies told by advertisers. Every advertisement wants to sell you an emotional image because that’s how the companies make money. They don’t know you personally and they don’t care about who you are. They know that manipulating people’s dreams increases sales. Images of happy families and romantic couples sell products but do not tell any truth about real families, real couples or real life.
So shut out the false images. Turn off your TV. If you watch old movies, remember that the movie producers needed to make money too. You can sing “White Christmas” all you want, but in the real world, snow is cold and needs to be shoveled.
2. Look to January.
Try taking your mind past the Christmas season. January is real, so go there. Make concrete plans to start new things in January. If your heart is broken, try experimenting with online dating in January, just to see how it feels. Maybe you’ll learn something new. Is there a hobby you’ve always wanted to try? Sign up for a class in January and do it now.
3. Be honest about family.
Family dysfunction is a third source of Christmas pain. Even if we only see our family once a year, Christmas really rubs our noses in the yuck. Not only do we get all the old patterns shoved in our face, but myths about so-called happy families make everybody crazy.
It’s a myth that all families are happy or should be. What’s real is that families are happy sometimes, but all families—all families— have hidden, unhealthy, unhappy patterns.  Some have a few, and some have many, but all families have problems.
There’s only one way to move towards a happier family, and that is to openly work on what is not working. But media and our culture pretend that none of that exists. We think, “Wow, what’s wrong with me?”
One way to handle this is the temporary patch, the “I can do it for a few days” technique. If it makes your mother happy that you go to church with her, you can try doing it, telling yourself that it’s only one day a year. As you sit in church, you can plan amazing and creative January rewards for yourself.
But what if sitting with your belittling, criticizing father makes you feel hopeless and crazy? There are good people who do not go home for Christmas.
Just because it’s family does not mean it is good.  Just because someone says they love you does not mean they know how to love you in the best way. Some of the cruelest wounds from families happen when a family member says they are loving you when in fact they are manipulating, hurting, belittling or abusing.
Maybe you need to find other family. Not blood family, but people who support you and care for you.
And you need to talk to a therapist. Many family patterns destroy individuals with their cruelty.  A therapist’s job is to support you while you learn how to love yourself better.
Perfect families—which is such a part of Christmas hype—are a fantasy that hurts people. Even though most people want to hide family problems, denying them is exactly what causes emotional pain and illness.
Lasting joy comes when we see the unhealthy along with the healthy. I am whole and so are you—but we are complete, complex packages with both good and challenging qualities. And that is okay.
Being happy and whole with your own family is possible. There are truly happy families— but their joy is neither automatic nor easy. Taking the first steps towards real family happiness means seeing a sympathetic therapist and getting open-hearted, non-judgmental support for the real you. Then you can scrape off the fake roles and discover the truth of love that might lie hidden underneath.  A real family loves the authentic you, not the pretend you.
 4. Look for the light beyond despair.
But what if someone you love has died? There’s no quick fix. Turning off the TV and making new plans won’t touch that pain.
Think instead about love itself. The love that person had for you still exists because love itself never ends.  Yes, it’s easier when they have their arms around you in physical form. But real love is an unseen, eternal thing. You still have that love now, today. You always will. If you sit quietly and close your eyes, you can still feel the love.
Buddhists teach that after death the family or loved ones should send thoughts of encouragement and love to the dead person. The idea is that the one who has died can then feel that it’s okay to move on into another level of existence.
Try sitting quietly and sending your loved one a message of encouragement and gratitude. Even if your loved one died in pain, you can feel gratitude that the pain has ended and that your loved one is free and at peace.  It doesn’t bring them back, but it might help you see today in a new way.
If there is just no relief from your grief, then see a therapist. The death of a loved one can feel like trying to carry 1,000 pounds. You don’t have to carry it alone.
Light in the Darkness
In the end, Christmas—like life—is about light in the darkness. I’ve been in despair. What I know for sure is that, if I get help and keep breathing, the year turns. It happens slowly, but the light comes back. Not in the way I wanted, maybe. After all, my marriage was really over. My dead baby was really gone. But eventually something changed because things always change. I had three more perfect, exquisite babies. Eventually I found a partner who cherished me as I really was.
And, so, sit with me now in the darkness. Breathe with me. The darkness around us is complete and that is okay. Darkness is the womb of hope. The year always turns. The sun always rises.  Death is a beginning, not an end.
Breathe slowly with me. Be gentle to yourself. Wrap yourself in kindness like grandma’s quilt and wait.
I know something that you don’t know. The love inside you is a seed. Your only job is to wait for the sun.
Christmas matters because it is the darkest time of the year. It is the longest night. Our job is to trust that change happens. I promise you that the light will come again.
In Ely, Minnesota, we will have a “Longest Night” service for people who feel quiet, thoughtful or sad at Christmas. The service will be at the First Presbyterian Church at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19. This will be a gentle, quiet, heart-energy service of love and remembrance. Everyone is welcome, whether or not you are Christian.

holidays, christmas