Suzanne Harrington: Festive dread? I see you and it doesn't have to be this way

Few things are more exhausting than putting on a brave face

Suzanne Harrington: "Few things are more exhausting than putting on a brave face."

Barely a handful of sleeps to Christmas! While small children, big shops, and Mariah Carey are having their best moment of the year, how are the rest of us doing? Because for lots of people, this week can involve a lot of tinsel-draped tooth-grinding, for all kinds of reasons, beyond the bog-standard slog of it.

For many people, it is not the most wonderful time of the year. To even say that out loud is to be perceived as a killjoy, fun-sponge, grinch, miseryguts, fly in the
festive ointment — such is the pressure to conform to the jollity. You have to be seen to be simply having a wonderful Christmas time, even if you’re not.