Holiday Mental Wellness Check

[OscarWinner]

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Diwali, Tet, Ramadan, etc. Happy New Year, and for the fellow Capricorns, Happy Birthday.

As jolly of a time as this is supposed to be, a lot of us know that the holiday season can indeed be the most tumultuous, stress-inducing and depressing time for a lot of reasons that are ironically a source of the yuletide joy that's expected. Not to mention a lot of people just hate the holiday season. I tend to feel that way about New Year's (and my birthday only a few days after) more and more as more and more of them pass by, but I should be thankful for that privilege.

I understand that there are users here who've had issues with mental/emotional health in years past and I assume it's still the case now even as the users come and go. I think it's the nature of web forums as it allows for a much easier form of communication, probably. I may be with you in such struggles. 

I don't know the absolute best way to alleviate such issues for this time, but for those that feel down, I want this thread to be a source of hope and solidarity. Yeah, a lot of us are anonymous lurkers, but we're still human (except the spam bots of course). Hopefully, the concept of just knowing that other people have the same feelings, grievances and worries can bring comfort. You are not alone - there is always someone there to bring about some good. Keep that in mind and survive the holidays.

2016 is just a year - not a villain, nor a hero. It's just a glorified number, just like 2017. The years/your time/your life is what you make it. Don't just let it happen to you. Focus on doing your thing, achieving your dreams and fighting to live another day.

Take care of yourselves.