Hi @Queenie, just caught up with this thread.
Hugs (if you'd like them) for what you have to deal with, and how hard it is at xmas for you. If you don't like hugs, I'm sending you good vibes.
I'm not a big fan of xmas myself, not being religious and in fact having baggage from my catholic past and, really, about Christianity in general. It can be good on the day though. I treat it as a nondescript holiday for th most part. Most recent years I've hung out with my closest friends where I live: C who I live with, and our close friend not far from here. We are all fellow heathens in different ways, and keep it very low key.
How annoying that your missus is pushing it on you so much, and really shameful that she is pushing alcohol on you. Have you taken up the referral for relationship counselling. From stuff you have said here over time, it seems like that might be worth it.
So sorry to hear about your cousin too, that's really rough. I have no brothers and sisters so my cousins mean a lot to me, though none of us have been really close since I was a child, when one of them was like my best friend. She has put a big distance between us since, I think because she has been a born again Christian most of her life and probably doesn't approve of me now. She even made up a new profile on Facebook a couple of years ago, deleted her old one, and left me off her friends list on the new one. Sad, but that's the way of things sometimes. I still remember the good times when we were kids with fondness.
It's good to know the NDIS is looking like coming through for you with the respite and support worker, despite having such a hard time finding actual support for a while, even though you were funded. ECT is scary to me, but I can understand why you might want that, given how much struggle you have with depression in an ongoing way. Wishing you the very best with it, if that's something that does happen. Wishing you well overall, as always. Maz 