Too much Christmas spirit

Dear Wendyl,I have a really bad problem which occurs every Christmas. I get really excited – actually over-excited for a woman of 25 – and become obsessed with what presents I will get from my friends and family. I know it is not normal but I just can’t stop thinking about them. And then on Christmas Day I am always disappointed with what they give me. Do I need some help? I just want to have one Christmas Day when I’m not upset. *

Christmas Fairy, Wellington*

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Dear Christmas Fairy, This is an odd one, isn’t it? At a guess I’m thinking you have become a little obsessive around a habit you may have developed in childhood, and it has never gone away – like it does with most of us as we adjust to accepting presents for what they are and realise that it’s the thought that counts.

I suggest you ask everyone not to give you presents next year. That way you have nothing to worry about. Simple. A word of caution though, you don’t mention any other anxieties you have but I’m willing to bet there are some other things in your life you are anxious about. If that is the case, then see your GP to see if you have some underlying problem with anxiety and need some help with that.Wendyl