Family or No Family For The Holidays? By Marla Stone, MSW

Family or No Family This Holiday Season? by Marla Stone, MSW

The holidays are around the corner, and with covid news surrounding you, do you visit with family or not? You can still choose to mix with family, yet when deciding to bypass the family gatherings altogether this year, be prepared for some uncomfortable if not depressing feelings coming your way. There may be feelings that range from mild sadness to despair, a disappointment to loneliness. However, for those who always have dreaded family gatherings, you may experience a sense of freedom and relief. Either way, it is vital to bring in some holiday spirit to uplift and center you for the new year ahead. You don’t want to make excuses for negative feelings; you simply want to feel better about life, every day, and in every way.

Quarantine has separated families for quite some time. Now that some of these rules are lightening up, deciding to get together with family may be difficult. The angst over small or large get-togethers can put a strain on you and will take significant consideration. Work with the family to see how to come together safely and without a lot of trepidation.

If you are too nervous or anxious about getting together, adjusting to the holidays on your own or with immediate family will take some thought and consideration. The important thing is to not isolate, mope, and feel defeated. Instead, bring forth the joy that the holidays bring, and create a holiday season that is both fulfilling and in tune with the jolliest seasons of all. You deserve to live a life of harmony, peace, and prosperity despite this year of doom, dread, and death.

With each holiday season, be kind to yourself and others. Treat yourself to something special. Decorate your home so that there is a festivity surrounding you. Connect with those that you love, and that love you via the computer, your phone, or in writing. Isolation will only lead to a tired and unsettled feeling, which can bleed into your blessed new year.

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WHAT’S THE STORY: Marla Stone a former social worker and psychotherapist has helped over 4000 people get organized for good by helping them realize their dreams and goals for an ideal lifestyle. She helps people get decluttered permanently by using clearing and healing strategies she developed while treating military personnel at Camp Pendleton. The strategies help heal ptsd and trauma and make it easier to declutter without all the drama. Her book The Clutter Remedy: A Guide to Getting Organized for Those Who Love Their Stuff lives up to its title as a user-friendly guide to de-cluttering one's home, lifestyle, and personal space. Chapters address how get family members to put things back in their proper place, reliable criteria for choosing what to keep and what to discard, how certain bad habits of thinking can obstruct one's efforts to remain organized long-term, and much more. The Clutter Remedy is ultimately an invaluable source of living an ideal life.