Are you one of those people who suffer from seasonal depression? At Christmastime, especially, do you tend to, more often than not, grapple with low feelings or anxiety, impatient for the season to be over? Whilst the reasons for this are varied — loneliness and isolation, sadness that yet another year is about to pass without any obvious accomplishments, grieving the loss of loved ones, etc — another cause that is now commonly being credited to these feelings is the phenomenon of Christmas creep. Meaning, a subtle conspiracy by the media and retailers — by hauling out Christmas decorations, ads and carols earlier and earlier each year — inadvertently reminding you just how financially stressed out you are. And if you’re unable to participate in the festive spending in the way it seems other people are, this can compound feelings of despondency. Especially if you’re a woman. Surveys have constantly shown that women struggle with mental health issues around Christmas more than men.

In Jamaica, the last few years have seen an all-out embrace of the American pre-holiday tradition of Black Friday celebrations, which, maybe as a residual effect of the pandemic, seemed, this year, to be more aggressive in its push to gobble up every available consumer dollar. There is no longer one day of big savings like in previous years. This year there were days, maybe even weeks; in one jurisdiction, it was even being referred to as Black November, meaning, of course, that the sales were slated to run all month long.

But for some people, this doesn’t necessarily inspire joy. For some people, it only brings into sharp focus the fact that their finances are meagre, that they are mired in debt. If you are one of these people, don’t fall into this trap of self-recrimination. Build up your resiliency to all these trigger signals, which are only going to increase in these few days leading up to Christmas, by following these five tips:

1 Rather than mope about the things you didn’t accomplish this year, in terms of your finances, think about the non-financial milestones you achieved. Did you limit your empty TV watching this year and decided instead to exercise or even read more, for instance? Be gentle with yourself. Find little things you’ve done that boost your self-worth.

2 If your financial situation isn’t altogether grim, and you have limited finances this year, it is important to make a budget. Keeping in mind the expenses you face early next year, decide first how much money you can reasonably spend without putting yourself too deep into debt that will see you spending the better part of next year trying to burrow out from. Gifts are meant to be tokens of love and gratitude; they are not about trying to impress people. They don’t have to be the most expensive items on the store shelf. Further, by all indicators next year will be a financially challenging one, even for those who believe they can afford to spend more during this festive season.

3Maybe you don’t have the wherewithal to do the big Christmas shopping this year. But not every gift has to be financial in nature. Give of yourself, your time. Is there somebody you know, a single mother, maybe, who needs help around the house? Offer your services and those of your children. The bonus is you’ll be teaching your young ones a valuable lesson about selfless service. Never underestimate the impact of your time and talent.

4. Limit your time on social media. Feeding yourself a steady diet of other people’s so-called picture-perfect lives often only leads to more dissatisfaction with yours. Close your screens and, if you’re single, plan a BYOB meet-up and potluck with real friends in the real world. You might be surprised to find they are just as lonely and stressed out as you and in need of a few laughs on Christmas Eve, to make the next few days less stressful. Post-Covid it is important to reconnect with the ones you love and this does not require an extravagant event.

5Make some time for yourself. Boxing Day is as good a time as any for quiet reflection. If you have a family, let them go wild with Christmas dinner leftovers and take a solitary retreat in your bedroom or even your bathtub. Holidays are so fraught with busyness that often you don’t have time to sit and think about your goals for the approaching year. Maybe you can even treat yourself to some spa time. Give careful thought to what you want to do differently next year: paying down debt, saving more, beginning your investment journey.

Maybe your finances are not where you want them to be this Christmas, for whatever reason. Avoid the temptation to bury yourself further in debt this holiday. Where you are today moneywise is where you are. Acknowledge that without guilt. Every day presents another opportunity for you to move forward until you are in fact at a more comfortable place with your finances. This holiday season can be the first step in the journey to where you want to be next Christmas.