Supporting your mental health and emotional wellness during the holidays
Need help dealing with December triggers? We’ve got you!
December 11, 2025
By Aviva Boxer, Registered Psychotherapist
December is a month packed with emotional triggers, and it can make this time of year feel heavy, overwhelming, and exhausting. For many people, the pressure to “get through the month” becomes the dominant feeling. Maybe it’s the stress of buying gifts for everyone on your long list, managing holiday spending, or navigating work parties that feel like one more obligation. Maybe it’s seeing family members you only connect with once a year — the ones who ask intrusive questions about your relationship status, plans for children, or who share political views very different from your own.
These holiday stress triggers add up quickly, and they can shape how you experience the entire season.
“When you stop and acknowledge the stress of the season, you give yourself permission to feel what’s real.”
If you’re experiencing holiday stress, anxiety, or emotional triggers, you’re not alone.
Grief, loss, and loneliness during the holidays
For some, December intensifies sadness and grief. You may be missing loved ones who have died, or feeling the ache of relationships that have shifted or ended. The holidays often magnify the sense of loss, loneliness, and emotional vulnerability.
Seasonal mood changes and winter blues
With colder weather, shorter days, and limited sunlight, many people experience a dip in mood or energy — often referred to as the winter blues or seasonal stress. These natural shifts can heighten anxiety, fatigue, and emotional overwhelm.
The pressure to “love the holidays”
There is a cultural expectation to be cheerful, grateful, and festive — even when that’s not your reality. Trying to meet that standard can be emotionally draining. Social media amplifies comparison, making it easy to feel like you’re not doing enough or celebrating “perfectly,” which increases holiday anxiety and emotional burnout.
Although your circumstances may not change between now and December 25, your mindset and self-awareness can significantly shift how you move through the month.
Why your holiday mindset matters
Your December mindset — and your willingness to check in with yourself — can offer more peace and less overwhelm. It might sound too simple or too good to be true. But consider the alternative: ignoring your feelings, pushing through every task, and dismissing your body’s stress signals.
Signs like chest tightness, headaches, stomach aches, irritability, or exhaustion often get brushed off as “normal” during this time of year. You might tell yourself to keep going because “this is just how the holidays are.” That story can keep you stuck in a cycle of holiday stress and overwhelm year after year.
Listening to yourself offers another path.
Emotional regulation and self-compassion strategies can allow you to feel the stress (without judgment)
When you stop and acknowledge the stress of the season, you give yourself permission to feel what’s real. And the truth is: this time of year is hard. Buying gifts, managing spending, attending social events out of obligation, and navigating awkward family moments can take a toll.
Allowing yourself to name the stress creates space for self-compassion. You can recognize that you’re carrying a lot — and that it makes sense you’re overwhelmed. From this place of honesty, things become more manageable. You might even see choices you didn’t notice before.
For example:
Simplify holiday tasks by cutting back on gifts or ordering everything online.
Opt out of events that drain you emotionally.
Set time-based boundaries so you can leave early and reclaim time for rest.
Awareness doesn’t magically erase stress, but it does shift the experience. It brings you back into choice, rather than autopilot.
Even if nothing changes, your kindness toward yourself can
Showing yourself compassion, listening to your feelings, and processing your emotions in real time can help you stay grounded and present. It might not make the month easy, but it can make it easier. That matters.
December doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. And it doesn’t need to feel magical to matter. What you can control — and what can genuinely transform your holiday experience — is how gently you treat yourself.
By acknowledging your emotional triggers, respecting your limits, and offering yourself compassion, you create more space for peace, presence, and truth — no matter what this season brings.
If you are feeling the stress of December triggers and want to take some time for yourself to process some of the feelings and overwhelm, we are here to help! Connect with us for a free consultation and you will be matched with a therapist who is there to help you sort through all the stressors you are experiencing right now.