The Argument Against Turning One-Day Holidays Into A Season Of Excess And Avoidance.

If you talk to people who get consumed by escapism during the fall and winter holidays they will say,  “it’s a busy time dedicated to fun activity like parties, gift- buying, over- eating, decorating and delaying non- preferred tasks”. However, they also describe the season as having control over them.  Few people will comment on the meaning and history of the holiday. In our modern times creating emotional highs has become the norm. The holidays have fallen victim to the ” high” mindset for milions of people. Despite the rise of religious intrusion in our politics and social discourse, “holiday season mentality” has sucked out the religious or historical meaning of Christmas and Thanksgiving.  

In years past, Christmas and Thanksgiving were one-day holidays celebrated for their meaning. There was no branding of a “season” that promotes excessive spending, eating, drinking, and avoidance of goals and attention to current responsibilities. Traditionally, Christmas and Thanksgiving were celebrated with three- to four-day weekends. Is it capitalistic greed, the influence of the internet, or a societal depression or dissatisfaction with one’s life that causes people to call the last third of the calendar year the “holiday season”?

I notice that during holiday time, clients in therapy feel entitled and relieved not to address goals or the difficult, relevant feelings and circumstances that are negatively affecting their lives. It is as if the upcoming holidays are drugs that promise something that they find missing in their lives. WOULDN’T IT BE AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT TO ALTER AND RESTRAIN A PORTION OF THE EXCESSIVE AND SEDUCTIVE  MARKETING THAT COMPANIES USE TO CREATE ADDICTIVE AND DISTORTED THINKING ABOUT MONEY, HAPPINESS, AND HOW TO CREATE BALANCE IN THEIR LIVES AS THESE TWO HOLIDAYS APPROACH?

In January, the negative result of over spending, over- eating and drinking, and avoiding attention to important issues and relationships becomes apparent. Many clients will describe themselves as waking up from a trance- like rollercoaster of activity, that in hindsight they could have done without.

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