Walking down the street today I was struck by a memory of someone that I would rather forget.  This particular memory was evoked by environmental cues but caused a cascade of memories to follow and flood my head the rest of the day.  These memories left me wishing I still talked to this person and they also made me realize something about myself, I have CSAD* - Christmas Seasonal Affective Disorder (not to be confused with Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, which is not to be further confused with Separation Anxiety Disorder or SAD).  Much like Seasonal Affective Disorder CSAD hits during the winter months but it is limited to the Christmas and New Year's Eve Season.  It is characterized by nostalgia and the romanticizing of past events and old friends and is a matter that I believe deserves serious attention.  CSAD will not stop affecting us sufferers until we see our behaviour for what it is, a disorder and not our fault.   

 

Diagnostic Criteria of CSAD

 

A.  Inappropriate and excessive thoughts of old relationships evidenced by 2 or more of the following behaviours:

     1. Recurrent thoughts, memories and/or dreams (day or night) of past relationships and old friends

     2. Desire to rekindle past relationships and old friendships

     3. Actions taken to rekindle past relationships and old friendships

     4. Reluctance to remember why past relationships and old friends are no longer part of your life

     5. Inability to overcome desire to rekindle past relationships and old friendships

 

B.  The duration of the disturbance is at least 3 weeks, beginning around December 1st and lasting until, at the latest January 2.

 

C.  The onset is after the age of 20.

 

D.  The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in seasonal social, academic (occupational) or other important areas of functioning. 

 

E.  If action taken to rekindle past relationships and old friendships CSAD will persist after the season as evidenced by 1 or more of the following behaviours:

     1. Repeated, half-hearted get-togethers that ultimately end without either party making a fuss

     2. Feelings of stupidity and the "oh right, that is why we lost touch" phenomenon

     3. Desire to go back in time and not send that email, make that call, write that letter ... etc. 

 

If you or someone you know is suffering from CSAD I urge you to stop remembering the good times and focus on the bad.  Sure it may seem like the wrong thing to do during the holiday season but you will be saving yourself a lot of pain and agony by not rekindling relationships based on feelings clouded by the holiday season.  Take it from someone who has suffered from CSAD in the past: nothing good can come from rekindled relationships unless you are a glutton for pain, punishment and emotional turmoil.