The Pressure to Be Merry: Understanding Holiday Emotional Stress
Holiday stress can impact anyone, especially those navigating anxiety, depression, or emotional overwhelm. Understanding how holidays affect mental health - and learning healthy coping strategies - can make the season feel more manageable. This blog explores the myths surrounding holiday mental health, the impact of emotional stress, and gentle ways to support yourself and others through the season.
Why The Holiday’s Can Feel Challenging
The holiday season is often painted as a time of celebration, warmth, and togetherness - but that isn’t everyone’s reality. For many, this time of year brings pressure to appear cheerful, navigate complicated family dynamics, or carry emotions that feel heavier in contrast to the festivities around them. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, disconnected, or simply “not merry enough”, you are not alone.
Navigating Grief and Loss During the Holidays
Holiday’s can be a painful reminder of the ones that are no longer with us. This season can bring up happy and painful memories that aren’t always easy to get through. It reinforces the current situation of adjusting to new traditions and new routines. Allowing yourself or your loved one to ride the waves of grief as they come, is important for the healing process.
Coping With Family Stress and Boundary Setting
Being with family can be a really positive experience and can also bring up a lot of struggles. Having to deal with the different dynamics, personalities and views, can be exhausting. Going into these senerios with a plan and giving yourself permision to step away and take a break can make a difference.
Financial Stress and the Pressure to “Keep Up”
“Keeping up with the Joneses” has become even more intense as social media has grown. It can be easy to get stuck in a spiral of comparison and feeling like you aren’t enough or that you aren’t doing enough. Practicing gratitude can help shift your focus back to what truly matters and ground you in what’s meaningful for your season…not someone else’s highlight reel.
Two Myths about Mental Health and Holidays
The Holidays Bring Moments of Joy for Everyone
People who struggle with anxiety, depression, or PTSD may have a harder time during the holiday season. If you notice a loved one showing signs of stress or just not themselves, reach out. It’s okay if you don’t know everything about helping someone go through a hard time. Being empathetic or simply just sitting with them and listening can go a long way.
2. Everyone Should Have the Skills to Care for Their Own Well-Being
Not everyone can just “sleep off” their feelings of sadness, guilt, or loneliness. Emotions are complex, and can be harder for others to navigate. These things often go deeper than what is on the surface. However, you don’t have to face these hard times alone. Find a trusted person, even if it’s a licensed professional, to lean into for support and guidance.
“...The Fact Is That the Holidays Simply Aren’t Amazing for Everyone… It’s Important to Spread Kindness and Empathy During This Time.”
3 Tips for Staying Grounded During the Holidays
The holidays can stir up complex emotions, but small, intentional steps can make this season feel more manageable. By reconnecting with the world around you, offering yourself genuine compassion, and showing up for those who are struggling, you create space for both healing and connection. This section offers gentle guidance for staying grounded, caring for yourself, and supporting others when it matters most.
Re-Engage with the World
Enjoy a short walk, reach out to a friend, volunteer to help others during this season.
Let Yourself be Human
Remember you are not alone, feeling sadness is experienced by many during the holidays. Practice self-care (not sure how? Take a look at our “How to Build a Self-Care Routine That Actually Sticks” blog post). Breathe and embrace your senses so you can help ground yourself.
Lend a Hand to Someone Hurting
Staying in touch, offering to help, or even just sharing space and being an active listener can go a long way. If you notice signs of depression, encourage your loved ones to talk to a professional.
Consider taking a Holiday Trip to Reduce Stress and Boost Well-Being
Taking a holiday trip can be more than just a change of scenery. It can be a meaningful reset for your mental and emotional well-being. Stepping away from your daily routine gives your mind room to breathe, reduce stress, and offer opportunities for deeper connection with yourself and others. Whether you’re traveling solo or with loved ones, a holiday getaway can help you recharge, shift perspective, and return home feeling more grounded and renewed.
Here are 4 major benefits to a holiday getaway:
Taking a holiday trip can positively affect interpersonal relationships. Whether that is establishing and maintaining new relationships, positively impacting relationships back home, or reconnecting with the people that come with you.
Going on a trip during the holidays can help boost self-esteem and increase positive thoughts about oneself.
Traveling for the holidays can also create a new sense of freedom, and take you away from the tedious, day-to-day structure of routine for a moment.
Going somewhere new can allow space to experiment with different behaviors and social roles.
A holiday trip doesn’t have to be anything grand! It can be a simple staycation where you find a comfortable place to relax, bring along the books you’ve been wanting to catch up on, or plan a few solo adventures in a nearby town.
Honor Your Needs This Holiday Season
Give yourself permission to step back from what you feel like you should be doing and make space for what actually feels right for you and your needs this holiday season. There’s no “right way” to experience the holidays and it’s important to remember that emotional struggles, especially during this time of year, are more common than people realize.
If this is a reoccurring theme for you, reach out to a trauma-informed therapist near you to learn ways to break the cycle and take back the holiday season.
