Tricky time of year this, with the festivities hoving into view. Never easy for anyone, least of all those of us who suffer from Christmas Affected Doom, Depression and Despondency (CADDAD), a ghastly affliction about which I’ve written at length elsewhere so won’t bore you with now.
Suffice to say that it is a dreadful burden, often hereditary (invariably passing down the male line with females rarely affected), often undiagnosed and rarely properly treated.
Symptoms include a rise in blood pressure caused by the sight of supermarket Christmas puddings and mince pies in early September, a throbbing in the ears upon being invited to have a ‘Cool Yule’, a lurch in the stomach on being force-fed cold cardboard, toothpaste, tile grouting and gravy (known to some as turkey with all the trimmings) and itchiness caused by stray pine needles getting stuck in one’s slippers (a gift from one’s mother-in-law) or socks (from one’s wife — yet again).
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