12/15/2025
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1453690642779448&id=100044155794029&mibextid=wwXIfr
Here is a different perspective about this holiday season:
“The Loneliest Season
They call it the most wonderful time of the year, but for many people, Christmas sounds less like laughter and more like an echo.
While lights flicker in shop windows and playlists insist on joy, some people are counting down the days with a tight chest. Not because they hate Christmas but because it reminds them of what, or who, is missing. Or worse, who they are trapped with.
For those with no one to be with, the holidays can feel like a public announcement of loneliness. Every family photo, every “we’re hosting this year” conversation, every WhatsApp status becomes a quiet comparison: Everyone seems to belong somewhere but me. Loneliness doesn’t just sit beside them; it presses in, whispering that they have been forgotten, that they don’t matter enough to be invited, loved, or noticed.
Then there are those who are not alone but wish they were. Some people will wake up this Christmas under the same roof as their abuser. Or beside someone who triggers deep trauma, anxiety, or fear. The holidays often mean longer days together, fewer excuses to leave, more alcohol, more tension and the expectation to “just be grateful.” For them, Christmas is not a break. It is a test of survival, performed with a smile for the sake of tradition.
Mental health struggles don’t take holidays. Depression does not pause for December. Anxiety doesn’t care about matching pajamas. Trauma does not disappear because it’s Christmas morning. In fact, the pressure to be happy can make things worse. When everyone else is celebrating, it can feel shameful to admit you are struggling. You may think, What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I enjoy this like everyone else? That silence can be as painful as the suffering itself.
But here is the truth we don’t say loudly enough:
If Christmas hurts this year, you are not broken.
If you feel empty, afraid, numb, or overwhelmed, you are not ungrateful. if getting through the day is all you can manage, that is enough.
Sometimes survival looks like staying in bed. Sometimes it looks like stepping outside to breathe. Sometimes it looks like choosing distance over tradition, or quiet over chaos. You are allowed to protect your peace even on a day the world insists you perform happiness.
This season, kindness must go deeper than gifts and greetings. It must include checking on the quiet ones. Believing those who say they’re struggling. Making space for people whose Christmas does not look like the movies.
If this holiday is heavy for you, know this: you are seen. You are not alone in feeling alone. And it is okay to take this season one minute at a time. Even the longest night eventually breaks into morning.”
