Cautions on Christmas conversations
D on’t you be the one to get unwrapped for Christmas …
It is very important to control your emotions during the holiday season. The holiday season should be full of joy not misunderstandings. It is certain that particular topics can bring stress and heightened emotions. Crowded stores, family dynamics, financial pressures, or unmet expectations often cause frustrations to build up drama.
Controlling your emotions during this season should be about maintaining peace and connections. Your ability to manage emotions will define whether you contribute to the season’s joy or add unnecessary tension. Unchecked emotions can quickly change special moments.
Feelings associated with keeping traditions or spending time with loved ones, meeting deadlines, buying gifts, and trying to make everything perfect will quickly overwhelm anyone. Not to mention experiencing sadness or loneliness, missing loved ones who have passed or coping with life changes.
Also, dealing with the frustration, irritation, last-minute changes or differing personalities at gatherings. These are just a few ranges of emotions experienced during the Holidays. Everyone has the right to have their feelings validated because feelings are real. Before you begin to converse, consider others’ emotions.
You don’t want to unwrap a gift before it is time, meaning opening a gift reveals its contents, compared to losing control of your emotions and exposing your thoughts and feelings to the world.
Some people may ask to be unwrapped through provoking or heated exchanges, essentially getting cursed out. When people intentionally impose their opinions without being asked, this most definitely leads to an unexpected emotional reaction. Just as you can’t reseal a gift once it’s unwrapped, you can’t take back harsh words. Certain reactions might bring relief in the moment, but they often create longer-term consequences.
Losing control during emotional situations can permanently damage relationships. Unwrapping your emotional self might mean exposing vulnerability, anger, or frustration. Harming the trust and connection between people. However, staying “wrapped up” tightly without any emotional expression can also alienate others and leave issues unresolved.
What should you do? Should you stay wrapped at all times, preserving peace but potentially repressing authentic feelings? Or is it sometimes necessary to come unwrapped to confront issues?
The reality of Holiday conversations is finding a balance to allow healthy emotional exchanges without exploding in ways that damages relationships. Holiday seasons are often filled with joy, and celebration, but they can also be a time when tensions rise and conflicts begin, especially during conversations with loved ones.
Whether it’s a difference of opinions, long-standing disagreements, or stress from overall holiday preparations, the atmosphere can sometimes shift from festive to physical fights. However, with staying mindful and respectful only positive communication will keep you wrapped during the holidays.
Identifying your own positive coping skills prior to any stressful situation is key to mental stability all the time, but especially during the holidays. You should take the time to identify your own boundaries, know what you are and aren’t willing to discuss, this will help to set the foundation for how you engage during holiday gatherings. This doesn’t mean that other people in the room won’t bring up potentially controversial topics, but leaving the crowd rather than participating in those conversations can save you from using your emotional energy.
Just set boundaries for yourself and control yourself through the holiday season. This holiday season, focus on staying intentional with your emotions. Avoid being the gift that gets unwrapped in ways you regret. Instead, try to be a thoughtful, calm person that uplifts rather than disrupts.
Sherry Holliman is a concerned citizen of Crittenden County and has some views on a variety of topics that she wants to share with her neighbors. She previously served on the Marion City Council.
Sherry Holliman
Community Commentary
