Holiday Mental Health Support
Episode 92: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
View transcript on Buzzsprout
The holidays can be beautiful, and brutal. Whether you’re navigating grief, family tension, or the weight of unrealistic expectations, this season often brings added stress to already-full systems. In this episode, Amanda lays out a grounded framework for caring for your mental health during the holidays. She shares why so many of us feel overwhelmed and unregulated this time of year—and how to shift from survival mode into intentional self-support.
What We Cover in This Episode
- How the holidays impact your nervous system
- Common sources of seasonal dysregulation
- Grounding tools you can use in real time (even in a room full of people)
- Scripts and strategies for setting boundaries with clarity and care
Why Holidays Feel So Hard (And What You Can Do About It)
It can be really disheartening when the *magical* holidays instead leave you feeling overstimulated, depleted, or spiraling in shame. Amanda starts by unpacking the core nervous system dynamics that get stirred up during the holidays: sensory overload, emotional weight, grief, people-pleasing, and the social pressure to feel joyful even when you don’t. These triggers, combined with extra responsibilities and expectations, push many of us into survival mode. When your logical brain goes offline, you default to old patterns—shutdown, defensiveness, avoidance. Cue the guilt spiral.
But understanding why this happens is a powerful first step. It creates space for compassion and a more tangible path through.
Staying Regulated: Tools You Can Actually Use
From breathwork to visual orienting to holding an ice cube under the dinner table, Amanda offers nervous system tools that can help you regulate in real time. These aren’t idealized wellness routines—they’re discreet, doable tactics that meet you where you are with the goal of helping you stay grounded enough to keep your logical brain online, even in tough moments.
She walks you through:
- Box breathing and physiological sighs
- Color spotting and slow visual scans
- Creating a sensory-friendly grounding kit
- Practices to use before you need them
Boundaries Aren’t Mean—They’re Mental Health
So much of holiday stress comes from abandoning our own needs to meet others’ expectations. Amanda reframes boundaries as acts of self-respect, not rejection. She explains how to identify when a boundary is needed (hint: your body will tell you) and offers exact scripts for:
- Time limits at events
- Exiting conversations
- Declining food or drink
- Protecting your finances
- Steering away from triggering topics
You’ll also learn how to reinforce a boundary using calm, respectful repetition—without overexplaining or defending yourself.
There’s no single way to do the holidays “right.” But when you start with self-compassion and center your nervous system’s needs, it becomes possible to meet the season with more steadiness and less shame. That’s what regulation looks like. And it’s available to you, one breath, one boundary, one moment at a time.
Three Tangible Takeaways
- Self-compassion is the first step. If you fall into old patterns, pause and remind yourself—it makes sense. Then give yourself what you need.
- Practical regulation tools matter. Pick one or two that feel doable and practice them now so they’re familiar when you need them.
- Boundaries protect your peace. You’re not responsible for how others react to your needs. Repetition is your friend.
Looking for more personalized support?
- Book a FREE discovery call for RESTORE, our 1:1 anxiety & depression coaching program (HSA/FSA eligible & includes comprehensive bloodwork)
- Join me inside the Regulated Living Membership, a mental health membership and nervous system healing space (sliding scale pricing available)
- Join my Release Class – Monthly guided nervous system regulation class
- Order my book, Healing Through the Vagus Nerve today!
- Download free resources here
*Want me to talk about something specific on the podcast? Let me know HERE.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
