Imagine, so soon after Santa-mania, that you were not able to enjoy the hype of the holiday. Imagine being left with only yourself, as you could not get out of a funk. That's the way it is, year-round, for those who suffer from depression and anxiety disorders. God, as it were, unwilling to allow you to enter into the fun and festivity of "giving".

More specifically, a form of insanity that lives up to its name, and its relentless endeavor to keep you in-strictly-essential-sanity. The kind of sanity needed to survive - being stranded on a mountain top or trapped in a ravine!

So, how can someone be helped, if not rescued, from such a misfortune? There is something to be found at the core of the existential condition of human beings.

It can not be found, however, without constant and concentrated exposure - to the inside rather than outside milieu. Often, such necessary exposure keeps us from caring about anything, not anyone, other than our predicament.

Seemingly selfishly, it trivializes everything non-essential to taking the next breath. It convinces you, at the height of others' spending frenzy, that you are bankrupt of personal worth. It forbids giving or receiving any gift that would compensate for your own inherent lack of value. It even refuses to be happy about happiness.  

Yet, just as you realize that the medication and treatments of others are not the answer, you find something else is crucial. You find yourself in God where you are claimed as a precious child. You are given a new, selfless lease on life. As at childbirth, you forget about everything you've suffered but what has been created. You desire only to give - thanks, that is.

Yes, I know because I have experienced this gift(after nine months of crippling depression) which is still waiting to be discovered, I imagine, as today's Christmas Miracle.