“It’s actually way more common than you might expect.”

I’d like to preface this post by saying that I am not a mental health professional, and this post is absolutely not meant to replace the advice of one. I’m just someone who’s been through this and would like to help others in a similar position.

Towards the end of last year, I shared my story in a guest post on The Unwritten blog. You can see that post by clicking here.

To sum it up, almost exactly a year ago I finally reached out to my primary care physician about feeling “down” pretty often.

On the surface, everything should have been great. I have a wonderful boyfriend who I love, loving family and friends, a nice apartment, a secure financial situation, and I had a stable job as a nurse. What was there to feel down about?

“It made me feel like I was still there, able to share in the festivities.”

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. And I’m pretty darn pumped because it’s fast approaching!

Holiday Traditions

I’m one of those people who get way too into the holiday spirit. As I write this, I’m sitting in a living room with command-hooked stockings on the wall, more than one vase of poinsettias, and both garlands and a bedecked Christmas tree. I have hot chocolate and marshmallows in the pantry and whipped cream chillin’ in the fridge. I’m telling you – I go all out.

But in reality, Christmas is really important to me because of my childhood. My family had so many traditions. We always went to church, saw lots of family, and spent tons of time together catching up and laughing. It was truly special.

Not everyone has a big family to gather with or certain traditions they follow, but I love that the holidays (whatever holidays it is you celebrate) are a time to slow down and enjoy the company of those you care about most. Which is why I really struggled with working Christmas Eve and Christmas day my first year out of college.