Holiday Blog Classic: The Horrors of Shopping
For those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, buying gifts for everyone on our lists can be a nightmare scenario.
- Crowded, noisy places can send us into anxiety attacks.
- All the chaos is likely to make brain fog kick in to overdrive.
- Having to walk through several stores then stand in long lines to pay is probably more physical exertion than most of us can handle.
Holiday shopping is a little frightening and overwhelming to me. I only survive it by making lists, planning carefully, dragging my husband along most of the time, and using a cane or wheelchair when I need to (in spite of how strange it may feel). And early morning on Black Friday? Forget it! I'll be home in bed.
As you think about those dreaded shopping trips this year, it can help to have ways to take the dread out of the deed! Read this:
What helps you get through holiday shopping, or the season itself, without crashing? Do you have a strategy or do you just wing it and hope for the best? Have you had any shopping nightmares, or any funny foggy moments? Leave your comments below!
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My DH and I gave up exchanging Christmas presents years ago. One of the BEST things we ever did! It’s so nice to be able to spend the holiday season with family and friends and not in a mall.
We haven’t had any complaints from others. I think everyone else was just as relieved as we were to be spending less time and money shopping, and to not have to worry about what to buy us (we are VERY hard to shop for).
My hubby call this time of year”Giftmas”. We don’t believe in to the artificial profit boost that retailers rely on each year. Bah humbug! We give gifts on non holidays whenever possible. That way it’s a true gift, with no expectations, no required costs, and low possibility of disappointment. It’s a real gift that means you care. Don’t join the masses like lemmings. Make personal decisions about what you want to occur. I expect no gifts. Not now, not on my birthday, not on any holiday. I choosee my friendship not by potential ptofitability. That is my joy.I boycott the malls during the whole time holiday music is piped in. I opted out.and I love being free of it all.
I don’t have that many people to shop for at Christmas, and I gave up holiday shopping at the malls years ago. I love online shopping and can always find what I’m looking for on the internet, either for myself or for gifts.
To cut down on shipping costs, I recently became a member of “Free Shipping.com”. The way that works is that you print out receipts for your shipping and handling costs and mail them to Free Shipping.com for rebates. They participate with over a thousand well known retailers.
Amazon.com also has a similar “club” for customers who buy often. That’s called “Amazon Prime”. It seems expensive at first to join, but if you buy often (CD’s, books, etc.), the shipping charges can really add up. With Amazon Prime, you don’t pay any S&H unless you want overnight Fed-Ex delivery, and then you only have to pay $3.99. Not all Amazon items are eligible but it works most of the time.
I also started my online shopping early — I’m talking about in the summertime! Hey, we’re survivors here and we have to do what we have to do! When all else fails, I just put money in a gift card, especially for the young adults on my list. These days, no one is going to complain about that, and if they do, I’ll take it back — ha ha!
Happy Holidays!
I do a combination of things.
1. I start my shopping the day after Christmas for the following year. I pick up items throughout the year when I catch a good sale. I am typically done by Black Friday.
2. Online shopping and gift cards are great, like Nancy mentioned above. We have Amazon Prime as well, and believe me, we get our money back over a year.
3. On Black Friday, I do not arrive at a store until it’s been open for at least 3 hours. By then the mad rush of shoppers have been and gone, and really the volume is no more than a busy Saturday afternoon.
4. I use Black Friday to buy things we need, like sheets, towels etc at a discount. Not a big rush on those items. LOL I am considering using a small wheeled cart, for stores that do not have carts like the Mall. Carrying stuff around is the worst for me.
My husband and I don’t celebrate “Giftmas”, as we call it. The family learned quickly that we wouldn’t be giving gifts, so they stopped giving, which eliminates any of the guilt. We don’t decorate and we avoid shopping in December (except for necessities). We take a few days off work and enjoy some vacation time together before starting up the new year. It’s great.
Shop online when you are feeling up to it and don’t stress over the rest. Most places will even wrap it for you. Love it, Portia
Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) is recognized by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Social Security Administration (SSA) as a serious, often disabling illness. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is marked by unrelenting exhaustion, muscle pain, cognitive disorders that patients call “brain fog,” and a myriad of other physical symptoms.
While all fibromyalgia sufferers will have a unique situation, there are a few universal foods that will give you the best chance of optimal health. There are also foods that will give your body the worse chance too. Really helpful and inspiring post on the subject, thanks a lot for sharing.
I shop early and am finished shopping already, I have 26 I buy for so I start about the end of June and am finished before the rush happens.
I do not remember when I last went to mall. I do my shopping online and most of time it is with free shipping. I too am a big fan of Amazon. The only family gift I buy is for my 4-year-old grandson. I wait until toys are a year old and then only buy 5 star items many times at a reduced price and he has loved everything I have sent thus far. I am always ahead a couple of years so there is no stress. Sending items for troops was fun but toting packages to post office sent me in a flare up. It is always nice to get email from Afghanistan or letter and then you forget about the self-induced pain because it is a small price to pay compared to what they must endure.
I went to Michaels yesterday to take advantage of the Christmas sales. I was there about 10 minutes when a flare begin.The shaking started and the usual fibro pain increased to the point that I had to stop my little shoping trip. I got to the cashier stand and checked out as soon as I could mange to move my stiffening legs. By the time I got to the car, I was in tears. As I drove home which is only a short distance away, I was crying hard as the pain increased more. It was only after I made it home and took my pain meds and l crawled into bed with the heated blanket on high, cried myself to sleep. I woke up by 8:30pm and managed a small meal then went to bed earlier than normal hoping and praying that the pain would calm down by the next day. And it did by the early evening. The holidays used to be a fun time for me. Now I have to gage what I can do by the pain levels. I want to put up my christmas lights and decorations up while the weather is warm but my husband works 2nd shift and suffers health issues too. I guess we will skip everything. Fibromyalgia really is disruptive and painful. Bah Humbug!
The only way I do it all is online. It’s the only way to do it.