The Holidays always seem to bring the blues for some, stress for others, but what can Ebeneezer Scrooge tell us about how to change it for good?
Everyone knows the feeling. For some, it’s stress, while for others it’s a mild inconvenience, and for still others, it’s either anxiety or straight-up depression, the dreaded “Holiday Blues” we hear so much about.
It “ghosts” you in all your activities of work and life, “running in the background” where it doesn’t seem to at other times of the year. Or at least you don’t notice it.
So, what is it about this time of year that seems to affect people in this way, especially a time which is intended to bring joy and cheer?
Why do people get blue, stressed or even withdrawn during what songs have called “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”?
And, if it’s simply the time of year that’s the problem, how come so many people react so differently to it?
The answer lies within Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and the story of four ghosts that visit Mr Scrooge, particularly the Ghost of Christmas Past that haunts his present. Even Scrooge experiences heightened stress at this time as he manifested in his “Bah Humbug!” attitude.
Just as Scrooge was able to change his demeanor and his entire life, so can it be remedied for you, all on your own with some “self-counseling” you can do to discover and self-handle what is keeping you from enjoying the Holidays and Life in general too!
And here’s how that happens…
What the past has to do with the present determines the future…
All this talk about “ghosts” from of past is just fiction, right? Or so it would seem…
But, metaphorically speaking, it is pretty real for people to have “ghosts” of the past, shadows of darker, deeply forgotten days “haunting” them in the present.
It is also may be very real to you that certain things in your environment can “trigger” these past experiences providing some degree of torment in the present and future.
The Holidays are a very common trigger of the past.
If you’ve ever watched a movie and been moved to tears or had an overall feeling of grief or sadness, you have undoubtedly experienced it. While movies can be moving, the degree of it is in the eyes of the beholder and what past experiences they have.
And that is the real “Ghost of Christmas Past”. It isn’t so much a spirit floating around and talking to you. It’s more of a shadow of a reaction you’re having in the present based on the forgotten past.
How the future can be changed…
It’s common sense that if you knew the future, you could change it. But did you realize that a look into the past can change it as well?
Scrooge’s epiphany didn’t start after he saw the last ghost. He began seeing the shadows that made him a miser in the present by looking at past loves lost, days ended and youthful ambition and interest having faded to barely an ember. And it moved him.
He was then able to look at his present and understand his way of being. Shown very specific moments of his past, previously hidden from his view, he was able to understand his present. He was then able to see not one but TWO futures.
One lay before him in his present state, a grim, dismal one if he continued to suffer, and the other was a bright, happy, new future he could create having rid himself of all the losses and trauma that stole from him the life he once had.
And that’s the entire point.
What can you do, right now, on your own to transform your Holiday and life experience?
The answer is simple.
But it doesn’t involve just “trying to remember” any bad experiences you may have had. Just as Ebeneezer needed to be pointed in a specific direction to view experiences he had long since forgotten, so do you need some direction to recall a few things that really count.
The good news is that it doesn’t just include trauma or uncomfortable experience, but moments of pleasure as well. In fact, these pleasure moments are perhaps the most therapeutically valuable.
Charles Dickens’s story of Scrooge’s plight is actually quite accurate when looked at metaphorically. It parallels this concept of “recovering yourself” in a way. What you’re looking to do is not vanquish pain, but get back to yourself, an inherently happy person.
You can be happy where happiness has seemed to all but disappear, even if not chronically, only occurring periodically, especially around the Holidays.
The Self-Counseling Program That Can Get You Started
Obviously, issues such as these vary from person to person, with no two being the same. All of them need equal help however and have them for a similar reason, these “ghosts” of the past that are below your awareness
And as they are a very personal thing, it’s good to take a good look for yourself before discussing it with another.
That is what our self-counseling program is all about. It involves a manual you can follow to start to uncover very specific parts of your past. Some may be sad and uncomfortable, but others are bright and cheerful and,, bring past joy into the present, replacing the pain that has become associated with it with laughter and happiness.
It is recommended that you first take the 5-minute self-test, the results of which will help us recommend where to start and to supervise your progress through the self-counseling portion of the program, ensuring you get the best result.
After that, you will be given the opportunity to get hold of the guide and workbook that will guide you on your journey, lightly and fully aware, into the past to recover the best parts of you and bring them into the present.
Take the self-test now and see what areas you may need to address.
There is hope for the future if you fix the present. This is the program designed to do just that.
