There still are 22 shopping days until Christmas, but that\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds little comfort to Barbara Myers.<\/p>\n
Out of work until recently, she hasn\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt done much shopping, and wonders how she\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdll afford gifts for her family this year.<\/p>\n
\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdEverybody\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds going shopping,\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd Myers said. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdI don\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt know if it\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds a gift or a curse, but there isn\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt any money for shopping.<\/p>\n
\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdI want to do more than I\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdm able to do.\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd<\/p>\n
She is not alone. For many people, the holidays can be a time of stress over too many responsibilities, or depression because someone has too few. Suicides and mental-health visits spike in December.<\/p>\n
There’s a paradox, said Stacey Freedenthal, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Denver. \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdFor some people, they don\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt have enough people in their lives this time of year, and for others it\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds there are too many people in their lives this time of year.\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd<\/p>\n
Myers has found a way to deal with it: hypnosis.<\/p>\n