Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Sadness Journal | Page 20

disappeared and people stopped showing up around the holidays . This is just one example of how a family member passing away and one memory can create sadness for certain days and even holidays .
Stress and depression are also felt when it comes to the holidays . Like mentioned earlier , the high expectations for Thanksgiving creates stress because people feel like they need to be “ perfect .” People try to out-perform others or try to have the best “ picture-perfect ” dinner , however , it never really works out . When people put a stress on being “ perfect ,” this can create a state of depression . The day after Thanksgiving , Black Friday , is a perfect example . Black Friday is supposed to be a day of super sales on Christmas gifts but may put stress on those who either don ’ t have the money to spend or just don ’ t want to be overwhelmed with the amount of people and lines you must wait through . Black Friday continues to get worse every year , with more fights over Christmas gifts and the constant arguing customers have . If the holidays are supposed to be joyful and fun , how is arguing and fighting over Christmas gifts joyful ? With this being said , Thanksgiving is just one holiday that can create sadness and stress . Christmas is also a large holiday that has high expectations similar to Thanksgiving , however , includes gifts . Gifts are a large part of Christmas that are competed from family to family . People will always make a competition over something great which creates stress and sadness in any situation .
Holidays are never what you expect them to be , they may create sadness and stress during times you are supposed to be joyful and happy . With this being said , holidays have become so “ idealized ” that a “ picture-perfect ” holiday is almost impossible to reach . If you take down these expectations , however , you may experience the joy and happiness the holidays should bring to you .
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