This is December 10th, 2008.  You know what that means:  that means 15 days of shopping left, right??!! And the countdown begins.

DIAGNOSIS:

Now, check your heart rate, pulse and breathing.  How are you doing?  If any or all of these indicators became elevated, you know you’ve got it bad.  You’ve got a diagnosable condition called Christmasitis.  We could add it to the bible of psychiatry, the book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. It is essentially experienced as a state of emergency, intensified even further for most people by financial constraints – or even the dreaded pink-slip-phenomenon.  If you experience anxiety, racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, irritability and muscle tension, you could be suffering from Christmasitis. In its moderate to severe state, you could become preoccupied with the making of lists, become perfectionist, and excessively devoted to the accomplishment of goals at the expense of leisure activities and relaxation.  You could become inflexible, overly demanding and fear loss of control.  It sometimes mimics manic-depression in inducing a state of exhausted depression alternating with racing around, overspending money and shopping compulsively.

In some cases anxiety and panic spike, insomnia worsens, and relationships suffer with increasing intensity as each day passes, culminating in the Worse-Case-Scenario on Christmas morning.  All night last minute shopping and present wrapping leave very little time for restful sleep before the Big Day.  A crisis of major proportions could erupt on “C” Day with the following symptoms:

• late awakening, irritability, grogginess
• mood instability
• feelings of hopelessness
• loss of alertness
• difficulty staying awake alternating with jittery busts of energy
• bouts of inappropriate laughter (sometimes sounding like Santa)
• overdosing on sugary chocolate products from colorful socks hanging on the fireplace
• feelings of existential crisis, wondering about the meaning of life

TREATMENT

• Laugh, laugh, and laugh some more
• Breathe
• Count to ten and consider the alternatives
• Lock yourself in the bathroom, or other private place to sit down and rest
• As you shop, be sure you are on the top of your list
• Drink plenty of water and plan your post-holiday diet
• Write a letter to Santa to ask for what you Really need, then make sure you get it
• Bring ear plugs or your i-pod to listen to soothing music, unless the music that others choose for you when in the mall really suit you
• Better yet, avoid the mall, and subsidize you small local businesses
• Tell your family and friends that the gift that you really want is time with them
• Slow down and remember what really matters

Blessings,

Cynthia