Christmas

 

The Christmas period is an interesting one because people will tell others “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”, but we don’t always know how people feel about this time of year. Most of the conversations this time of year as people break up for their holidays is positive, hope you have a nice time. That kind of thing.

For some people Christmas might be the worst time of year for them. Especially when we think about Social Work, the main group of people I support are older people a lot of who live alone. Some are fortunate and have family nearby who will be visiting but for others this may be a long, lonely time because places close for Christmas. The clubs they usually attend once a week might not be on because the people who run it want their own time off for Christmas. This can leave people feeling really lonely and could potentially cause them to feel quite low in mood so the positivity that we try to have when we are finishing for Christmas might actually just make them feel worse.

One thing we could try and do is ask, ask what they have planned for Christmas and if they don’t have anything planned do, they need support to find  someone to come and spend some time with them or somewhere to go. Is there anything going on locally that they could potentially attend instead.

There was a lot of research over the pandemic/lockdowns that Domestic abuse rates increased because people were stuck at home together. The same could be said for Christmas for both adults and children. If the only time someone is able to leave the house is work or school and that is closed for a couple of weeks, it can be really difficult. I know through speaking with colleagues in Children’s that they can get busier before Christmas because schools are worried about specific children and then won’t be able to see them for a few weeks due to the break, so they report it. Whereas from speaking with colleagues in my team we are quite quiet around Christmas, and I wonder if this happens because we work with a lot of older people. For those who do have family I would imagine this is the time of year that either the family member comes to stay with them, or they go to stay so they hold off or they don’t realise how badly someone has deteriorated until they have spent some more time with them and then the referral could potentially come through in the new year instead.

The other aspect of Christmas for someone could be that it is actually quite a triggering time for them. It could be the anniversary of something difficult, the loss of someone or something as simple as they have always had bad Christmas’ right from childhood and it is a reminder of those days.

I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t enjoy your Christmas or your Christmas break if you are looking forward to it. I am just suggesting being mindful when going off for Christmas and letting the people you support know when you are back.

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