Welcome to “Breakup Week.”

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, until it isn’t. Welcome to breakup week – the week before Christmas. Or, as I’ve come to call it, shit or get off the pot week.  

It’s essentially a season: From the week before Thanksgiving through the first of the year, I could double my hours if I could clone myself.

The combination of family obligations, pressure to overspend, and juggling social events leaves most people feeling stressed out, cranky and unable to handle relationship problems – and those are the people who don’t have a history of anxiety, depression, or loss.

Basically, if you’re newly dating (you know – in that vague space of uncertainty regarding spending holiday time together / the appropriateness of exchanging gifts), or if you’re in a less-than-perfect relationship (who the hell isn’t), this is the one week where the right conversation said in the wrong way could be the proverbial straw that breaks your relationship’s back. 

So, what should you do?

Keep your shit together. Don’t become another statistic. It’s a season of stress. A month. A week. It’ll pass.

Don’t have the talk. This isn’t the time to demand to know where things in your relationship stand. 

Don’t make decisions. You’re not in your right mind, I promise. You’ll feel differently in 2 weeks. I used to have a hairdresser who would refuse to drastically change my hair color if I admitted to having PMS. She was smart.

Don’t add meaning. Everything feels amplified this week. The holidays have a way of magnifying our insecurities. Single? No doubt you’re worried about fielding questions regarding your dating life. Unhappily married? You’ll be certain that the family picks up on the tension between you. It’s all in your head.

Here’s my final thought: If the way you feel this week is legit, you’ll feel the same way in 2 weeks. You can postpone blowing shit up until then. Have a very happy holiday!