SPOOKED BY HALLOWEEN?
Why Halloween can be a difficult time for some
The spookiest night of the year is upon us …. Halloween.
Lots of adults, children and families are gearing up for some fun, getting in the party mood with trick or treating, ghoulish costumes and face paints and consuming all manner of food and drink. Whilst Halloween is a fun-filled time for a lot of people, it can be a difficult day in the calendar for others to endure, as can other annual events, traditions and holidays.
Surrounded by parties and people in high spirits, you can feel lonely and left out, fuelling a sense of isolation and low self-worth. You may compare your own life unfavourably with others who seem to be having a better time than you, making you feel dissatisfied and despondent and leading you into a vicious cycle of beating yourself up for not doing better.
Holidays and high days can often trigger memories from the past. You may find yourself reflecting on previous years when times were happier or easier than they are right now.
Halloween images in particular can reawaken feelings of grief and loss over the death of a loved one and is sometimes referred to as Halloween Grief. This can affect children and adults in different ways. Children may ask questions about death, influenced by the images surrounding them. Adults may find it difficult to answer these questions, particularly as they may be struggling themselves.
A way forward to handling Halloween Grief may be to use this annual event to come together as a family and celebrate life, rather than death, spending time remembering loved ones and the good times shared with them.
If Halloween is proving to be a difficult time for you, then allow yourself some time for self-care, doing things that you know you can take pleasure from. It may be spending time with friends or family away from the frenzied celebrations or something as simple as watching a good movie or reading a good book.
Making sure this time is about you, doing what you need to do to make yourself feel better, can be helpful not only for your current well-being but also allow the necessary healing to cope with further Halloweens and other annual holidays and events.