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Surviving the Holidays

A piece I love in the NYT acknowledges that the holidays can be sort of awful. Maybe not relentlessly awful, but also maybe not a relentless source of good cheer. (And the demand to feel, or to feign, good cheer can often make things more challenging.)

The Times suggests a few things:

*Dig out your controlled breathing exercises.
*Carry a photo that you enjoy looking at. (I think reaching for the photo could be a substitute for emotional eating.)
*Have a plan for therapeutic music time. (Again, the song you enlist can be a substitute for emotional eating. I seem drawn to Kristin Chenoweth's cover of "When I Fall in Love.")
*Feeling lonely? Be in public, even if you're alone in public. Go walk around the town square, or eat in a restaurant, or see a movie.
*Quietly distance yourself from an irritating or negative person. You don't have an obligation to make nice with the relative who wants to talk about your weight, or to download several hours of unsolicited thoughts on impeachment. You get to take care of yourself, and walk away. (Jami Attenberg has advice for talking to a certain kind of man: Allow your eyes to get glassy and murmur, "Ah, that's interesting." Or say: "I think I need to check something in the other room!" And scurry away.)

All fine advice, if you ask me. Have a happy holiday. Or: Have a Zen holiday. Have the holiday you're going to have.

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