Christmas is said to be a time for connecting with friends, family and having fun. But it can also be time of loneliness. Indeed, the results of a 2018 survey looking at loneliness during Christmas time in the UK revealed that 17% of people felt more lonely over the festive period.
Loneliness is a subjective emotion, where we feel our social relationships are insufficient, particularly when compared to our peers. Christmas, with its images and expectations of gift-giving, socialising and excess can often be a time when our own relationships or connections are put under the spotlight. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy if the period doesn’t match up to perceived ideas of what our lives should look like at Christmas.
