As many people prepare to take time off work and travel to be with loved ones this holiday, they may worry about holiday stress with things like family issues and obligations. Folks with mental illnesses have hopefully read some of the plethora of “preparing for the holidays” articles and will benefit from the advice and experience of others. I hope the seasonal festivities are more pleasant than ever.
But for others, Christmas is one of the worst days of the year. Maybe there is no family to be with, or family has turned their back on mental illness. Maybe it’s a grief anniversary that worsens depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Maybe poverty prevents full participation. Whatever the reason, there are a fair number of Christmas “orphans” who won’t be singing along to Jingle Bells.
Readers in the former category will be offline busy with their celebrations but as a web veteran I know that people in the latter group will be online feeling worse because nobody’s posting. So, I will be here, with info and inspiration and empathy. Links and fun stuff.
Then there are those who won’t be online at all, people who are homeless or hospitalized or (shockingly) don’t use the Internet. Charities distribute hampers to poor children and some host festive dinners, etc., but often those attempts at inclusion take place weeks before the actual holiday and on Christmas Day itself the silence in the void is even more acute.
Every year, I go to my local hospital’s psych ward to deliver a pound of good (decaf) coffee to brighten the day of everyone in the ward, and a gender-neutral gift for someone in the ward who will not otherwise receive a gift. The nurses decide on the recipient.
Why? I am sure there are worse situations, there are those suffering from war and abuse and crimes, but really one of the most miserable sensations someone with mental illness may experience is being alone in the hospital on Christmas and utterly forgotten by people. Other people in the ward get visits and flowers, while the person with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder sits in a corner and feels more left out, stigmatized and abandoned than ever. It’s these people, and their online counterparts, I want to help on the loneliest day of the year.
Gotta dash for now, I’m busy with holiday volunteer work, but rest assured I’ll be back. I wouldn’t forget about you.
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swissreplica4 (1/15/2007)
2 Comments to
“Mental Illness Takes No Holiday”
As a crazy person who spent time in jail (you call hospital) my experiance there is one of two things.
1 being so drugged you can’t think.
2 being so bored from staring at the walls
criminals have better protection, as they by law get to go outside one hour a day, and have the right to think what they want think.
speaking on behalf of the other crazy people, thanks for the coffie to alleviate the boredom.
Hi all, I am a super depressed and a person in despair. I was a millionaire until 2000 when I was struck down overnight with this illness I had never encountered before in my life except to now realize my younger brother had the same thing. He spent months in hospitols and jails, suffered terribly due to no “real” help and finally killed himself to stop the pain, suffering and misunderstanding. Now I find myself in a very similar place, misunderstood and not take seriously by friends and relatives and living in a place where there is no real serious medical help. I lost my fortune, my ability to work even and am now reduced to living on disability and thank god for it even though it is poverty level. Why is it that sick people are made to suffer more by being forced to live on so little, wouldn’t it be better to give them some comfort and ease the worry just a little by eliminating the need to chose between medicine, food and/or heat? Does anyone want to communicate and offer me any solutions or suggestions or just a good joke?
Love to all,
Fred and Max (my dachshund)
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 22 Dec 2006
