Support Groups Blog

A lot of us were taught from an early age that putting our wants and needs first is selfish, that we should think of others ahead of our own needs. So we grew up with the mindset that self care and putting our needs above others is the height of impropriety. We work hard to provide for our families, we buy nice gifts for everyone besides ourselves, we defer making decisions and we don't complain when we are inconvenienced.

We hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely day, or at the very least, a manageable holiday. Time with the family isn’t always easy, it can be fraught with emotional landmines and way too many topics that are better left untouched. Which leads us to the topic of how best to navigate the remainder of the Holiday Season.

And just like that we blink and it is Thanksgiving again! We have been doing our best to ignore the fact that it is next week, but let’s be honest, we need to go shopping soon and probably plan what exactly we are making! This year we are going into the holiday with so much gratitude our hearts are ready to burst! We are fully vaccinated and have had the booster, our kids are either fully vaccinated or are at least halfway there. As a means of giving back we have donated to our local Food Bank, helped collect donations for a family in need, and contributed to a can drive.

There are people who collect friends, they nurture relationships, they have had friendships since childhood and to this day they talk, visit and generally stay in each other’s lives.

Then there are the people who want to have friendships, but find the whole process overwhelming, remembering to respond back to texts, inviting them over, going to do things with them, generally being in one another’s lives to a certain degree. It can kind of feel like another responsibility, rather than a joy.

First of all, is it only us or did it just seem to skip from like August to November? Time is literally flying around here and if you celebrate Hanukkah, there are only a few more weeks to actually procure gifts. We have not actually bought anything because our brain still thinks it is Summer, so panic is starting to set in. Those who celebrate Christmas, you are just fine and have 51 days, so no need to panic just yet.