" Christmas is the greatest day in the whole wide world," once said a very wise man named Buddy the Elf. Us Christmas addicts can agree with that statement. Christmas is the greatest day in the whole wide world, but it seems to come and go so fast. Then comes the dreaded long time period of cold winter that lacks the joy of Christmas lights, classic movies, and an overall feeling of joy. Here are the five stages of the horrible PCD (Post Christmas Depression) that comes along after every Christmas season.
1. Denial
This is when we keep our trees up for a few extra days... and when I say a few extra days, I mean months. People will ask why our trees are still up in our houses and we will just respond by saying it adds to the decor of our homes. This stage also consists of continually watching just about every Christmas classic there is to keep up with our yuletide glee.
2. Realization
Now this stage is hard for most. It often comes along after New Years when all of a sudden, reality starts to come in. For some cases this can especially occur when ABC Family and Hallmark stop playing all of their Christmas movies.
3. Anger
This is when we don't have anything to do with ourselves except be angry. Anger is a natural part that comes along with every PCD case. This anger can often come up when in the company of those who are already in preparation for Valentines day. This is all a part of the healing process, so try to stay calm.
4. Depression
Anger can often lead some to be reminded of the scene where Buddy calls Miles Finch an angry elf, which can lead us to think about Christmas, which can then lead us to depression. This is when we just have that overall gloomy feeling of hopelessness in the cold January winter. We start to think that without Christmas, do we really even have a place in this world?
5. Acceptance
This takes quite a while, but eventually we finally get to this point. For some, this point can even take place all the way in the summer. At some point somehow we all come to the point where we are okay taking the tree down and all of the decorations. This comes by pushing through each day and realizing that next Christmas will be here soon. So just know when there seems like there is no hope, there is.
