Thank goodness Christmas is over.

[Adriennelc]

Rightly or wrongly all I feel is utter relief that Xmas and New Year are over.  I couldn't cope with it and decided to stay hidden until it was over.  I cried enough tears for the whole of Scotland.
Can someone please tell me that next Xmas won't be just as bad as this 1st one?
How do you get through this pain?

[KayC]

I'm sorry it was so hard for you.   My kids were home my first Christmas (six months in) and that helped me a lot.  This one was hard because I was sick for two weeks and then got a vicious dog attack two days before Christmas.  And my kids canceled Christmas so I didn't have a tree.
I think it's different for everyone.  I hope yours goes better next year.

[widower2]

9 hours ago, Adriennelc said:

Rightly or wrongly all I feel is utter relief that Xmas and New Year are over.  I couldn't cope with it and decided to stay hidden until it was over.  I cried enough tears for the whole of Scotland.
Can someone please tell me that next Xmas won't be just as bad as this 1st one?
How do you get through this pain?

Odds are good that it will not be as bad next time around. As for surviving, as I just said in another thread, take it a day at a time. That's enough to deal with. 

[Griefsucks810]

On 1/5/2024 at 1:42 PM, Adriennelc said:

Rightly or wrongly all I feel is utter relief that Xmas and New Year are over.  I couldn't cope with it and decided to stay hidden until it was over.  I cried enough tears for the whole of Scotland.
Can someone please tell me that next Xmas won't be just as bad as this 1st one?
How do you get through this pain?

I also couldn’t cope with Christmas or New Years this year and stayed to myself until it was over.  I didn’t put up my Christmas tree, didn’t decorate and I didn’t make Christmas dinner.  I spent most of Christmas Day alone cuz my daughter was with her dad and then went to a late afternoon football game with her friends.  I ate Christmas dinner with my friend Mary and her bf which was the highlight of my day; glad I didn’t have to eat a TV dinner alone at my place. 

[Griefsucks810]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:45 PM, Sim7079 said:

Hi @Adriennelc, well for me the second Christmas & New Year was just as sad and difficult as the first. But that was just my experience others might have felt differently the second year. This is the third Christmas and New Year without my husband & this one was hard too, but not as hard as the first two. I spent with my in-laws which was nice.

The pain I think will always be with us but it’s not so much front and centre for me, I do still have waves of sadness & sorrow.

This was my fifth Christmas and New Year  without my husband. This Christmas was different from the other 4 Christmas’ cuz  I didn’t put up my Christmas tree, didn’t decorate or make a Christmas dinner., I just didn’t have the holiday spirit this year.  Next year I hope I don’t feel this way again.