The Empty Chair

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Across
  1. 3. A place of refuge or safety; what your home can become if you shut out the noise.
  2. 6. A mark of disgrace or shame that society attaches to certain conditions, like being alone during the festive season.
  3. 8. The examination of one's own mental and emotional processes; looking inward.
  4. 9. The uncomfortable tension created when your internal feelings clash violently with the external environment, like feeling misery at a joyous party.
  5. 12. A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded.
  6. 13. The outer limits or edge of an area or object; where lonely people often feel they are standing relative to the main group.
  7. 14. A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
  8. 15. A feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause, often associated with the winter season.
  9. 17. The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power; taking control of your own holiday plans.
  10. 18. Cruel and oppressive government or rule, used metaphorically here to describe the pressure of enforced joy.
Down
  1. 1. Recognition or affirmation that a person's feelings or opinions are valid or worthwhile.
  2. 2. A deceptive outward appearance that hides the reality inside, much like a curated Instagram feed.
  3. 3. The state of being alone without being lonely; often viewed as a positive, constructive, or spiritual state.
  4. 4. Experiencing something through the feelings or actions of another person, often by watching them on social media.
  5. 5. Courage in pain or adversity; the strength of mind required to get through a difficult season.
  6. 7. Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret; sharp and touching.
  7. 10. Lasting for a very short time; fleeting, like the holiday season itself.
  8. 11. The state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
  9. 16. A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds, like a busy shopping mall mixed with crying babies and blaring music.
  10. 19. A short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant.