As a six year old trapped in a 24 year old’s body, I love Christmas. The silly old traditions, the decorations, the food and the excitement of waking up at 5am and running downstairs to see if Santa’s been. But actually, the holiday season isn’t always so awesome for everyone.

Not everyone gets to spend time with the people they love. Whether that’s because home isn’t a place where love is abundant, or because people aren’t able to come home, or are no longer with us. That’s a really hard thing to have to deal with. Spending Christmas without the people that you’d want to be there is, unfortunately, an inevitable part of life.

If this is your first Christmas away from home, or your first year without someone, it’s gonna be tough, but hang in there. In time, it gets easier.

You’ll get your own traditions, or new ones altogether and you’ll find new people to spend it with, wherever you are in the world. It’s not a bad thing – it’s part of dealing with the new situations that get thrown your way.

I read today that, contrary to popular belief, suicide rates don’t actually rise around Christmastime. This is largely, according to Psychology Today, due to the fact that people feel some level of protection by being close to their family. And maybe that’s especially true if you’re coming home from uni after a tough term. A lot of the time, just being back in the comfort of where you grew up can put you in a nice little bubble (or should that be bauble? <— Christmas joke), where everything bad that life is throwing your way can’t get you. So maybe one way to put a positive spin on Christmas is that, even if just for one day, none of the other problems need matter.

But if being around your family doesn’t leave you feeling safe and happy for that one day, then remember that it’s okay for you to feel that way too. It doesn’t have to be all happy families all the time, and you’re definitely not the only one who’s in that situation. The good news is, if you feel you need to talk to someone, but not the people you’re spending Christmas with, many of the main helplines are still available on Christmas Day. You can find a list of helplines HERE.

Or maybe Christmas just stresses you out because it costs loads of money, and you have a bunch of obligations. Unfortunately, that’s kinda part of life and growing up. I’m sorry. But the way I personally cope with that is by clinging on to that feeling of being a six year old. Get dressed in your pyjamas and rip open that wrapping paper. Wake up early and bounce around on the bed. Eat too much chocolate and immediately regret it. Let yourself be a bit silly. Don’t take yourself too seriously. For Christmas at least, you’ve got an excuse to not worry about all the commitments of being a grown up (though obviously, make sure you and everyone else is safe if you’re gonna be acting like a little kid all day).

I guess the point of this whole post is: regardless of your situation, you’re not the only one feeling that way at Christmas. Not everyone is having a movie-like holiday season, and that’s ok. You’ll survive Christmas day, just like you’ve survived the 358 days before it.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, I hope you have a restful & peaceful Christmas, and at least one day of the year where you can forget about everything bad that’s happening. And here’s to many more days like that.

– Si