In North America, the three months from October through December are socially engineered to pull ones attention from the internal world (where reside feelings and whatsoever things are true) and to direct it toward the worldly attractions of the material world (evoking thoughts and more surface, material concerns.) During January through March it is common to feel a kind of emotional hangover, and to have that experience complicated by the consequences of our having been over-invested in the material plane for a full season.
This is an interesting time of the year right now (as I write, we are approaching the last week of February,) and one that brings its own challenges. In North America the three months prior to January are very much focused on Christmas. Even though Hallowe’en falls at the end of October, by the beginning of October the Christmas decorations and products clearly designed to be given as gifts already are crowding their way into the places we shop and hang out. Thanksgiving falls either in October or November depending on where in North America one lives, but Thanksgiving has become sort of a test run for the festive meals that rise in importance as Christmas approaches. For many, it’s been three months of spending more than usual. Then comes January. People withdraw a bit and try to regain balance. The stores put on sales to entice further spending, but generally it’s far less busy. Part of this seems to be so because with the start of a new year, all kinds of necessary licenses, taxes, memberships, registrations and the like come due, each one having associated demands on time together with financial costs. I’ve heard it said that people don’t really start making any financial headway until June 1. From what I’ve seen, I believe it.
People often ask me in December if I’m very busy with clients. It seems many have heard the adage that suicide rates peak at Christmas, and they assume all kinds of depressed people must be coming in for help. As far as I can tell, that story about suicide rates peaking around Christmas is a myth. The real peak in moodiness and despair comes around now: Mid February to Mid March. The bills are coming in, and people who started thinking that psychotherapy is a luxury toward the end of the past year face a mounting stack of evidence that it is no such thing. Once a person recognizes a personal need for a professionally facilitated growth/healing process, even if it once was so it is no longer optional. They begin phoning around March. At least, the ones who are fortunate enough to recognize their need do. That’s when it starts getting busy.
I’ve heard it said that by this time of the year, winter’s “back is broken.” I hope that is true. I also hope that people take care of themselves by seeking the help they need. Because the return of the sun can act just like an antidepressant does, improving physical energy prior to improving mood. The danger is that someone whose mood is still in the tank gets energetic enough that they take ill-advised steps to end their suffering now rather that waiting until the mood starts improving and the suffering begins to abate.
It would be wonderful if the busyness of October through December and the challenges of January through March were less distracting to people. Happiness grows from the inside out. Thinking that the reverse is so, as much as it may act to swell the economy, is simply and dangerously wrong.