I think it's a very sane and necessary message that Marian Keyes is giving, thanks for sharing it, OP. Of course Christmas isn't torture for everyone, she doesn't say that. But she recognises it can be bloody awful for many of us, so she's saying, for the sake of your mental health, do what you have to do to get through it, or avoid it. Here's a bit for those who can't easily watch it:
'Being back as an adult amongst your siblings and your parents has a very weird effect on us because, when we're adults, we are far more powerful than we were as children. We're not powerless in the way that we were when we were a child.
'But I found, when I lived in London and I used to come home I used to slot right back into the person I used to be when I was a teenager and in my early 20s, and I felt rage, and resentment, and I fought with my siblings. There's something about being back in the family home that makes me revert to a younger self, and if that happens to you, and if you find it really painful, limit your exposure to them. A lot of people do that, there's nothing weird or shameful about doing that.
'Lie, if you can't be honest, you know? If you don't have the courage – and I understand this – to say, “I can't be with you because you terrify me and you make me feel insane and really depressed for weeks afterwards,” if you can't say that. And that's fine. Pretend you're sick. Get a second period that month or, you know, suddenly develop a blinding headache. It's something that makes you escape, if you're in, if you're staying in the house, escape to your bedroom. Or, if you're visiting just for the day, to just leave – or to not go at all. You're allowed.'