Navigating The Holidays: How Therapy Can Help

The holiday season is supposed to feel merry and bright. Instead, you are filled with stress, overwhelm, anxiety and grief.

Couples and The Holidays

The holidays can be a high-stress, pressure-filled time filled with financial and relationship stress for couples.

Partners may have differing expectations of the holidays which can cause tension and conflict between them. One partner may be looking forward to time off to relax together as a couple, while the other is frantically checking groceries, presents, and event planning off their list to ensure their partner has a happy holiday. One of you is running around the house frantically cleaning and the other is chilling by the fire. It can cause one to scream ‘you are too much’ and the other to shout ‘you are not enough’. You both smile as you greet guests for the family meal you are hosting. One of you feels alone in creating the holiday magic and the other feels like they are failing.

The holiday stress can cause the best of us to fall back into old patterns of criticizing, blaming, attacking or withdrawing. You both worked so hard to have time off together for the holidays and it’s heartbreaking to end up fighting the whole time. You hoped to create magical memories with each other yet feel disconnected from the one you love the most at what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.

Parenting and The Holidays

As a parent, you are working hard to make sure it is the most wonderful time of year for your children. Your calendar is crammed with festive activities, to create idyllic childhood memories. You are racking your brain and shopping for the most thoughtful gifts that will bring a sparkle to their eyes as they open it. Parenting during the holidays can be stressful. It can cause exhaustion and irritability for you as a parent and your children. Your child might be cranky, acting out from overstimulation or withdrawing, and not want to participate in planned activities. This can feel frustrating when your child’s behaviour doesn’t coincide with your holiday plans.

Trauma and The Holidays

If you have experienced childhood trauma this season can be activating as you anticipate gathering with extended family. Or you might feel sad with the loss of relationships that were not what you needed as a child. Perhaps you feel angry your childhood holiday memories are filled with pain instead of joy.

If you experienced a trauma, car accident, or sudden loss over the holidays you might find yourself triggered by the sights, sounds, and smells at this time of year causing anxiety, overwhelm, irritability, and wanting to avoid reminders of the traumatic event. You can feel isolated, alone and misunderstood in your relationships. You can feel betrayed by your body as you want to celebrate and enjoy the season but the intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks, loss of interest and feeling not like yourself make it impossible to relax and feel joy.

Grief and The Holidays

This time of year can bring back special memories of those you lost. Your grandmother’s favourite dish, your dad’s favourite song, and your child opening their gifts can flood you with emotions. Your grief can spring up unexpectedly out of nowhere.

If you recently lost a loved one it can feel unbearable to think of how to celebrate without them. Grieving during the past year has been hard enough but you are dreading how to get through the pressures and expectations of the holidays. It makes sense if you don’t want to go to events pretending you feel festive. Or you might be looking forward to participating in the holidays and having your loved ones around. There is no one way to grieve, it looks different for everyone.

Grief can impact your relationships. As a family, you may disagree about how to navigate the traditions or what is an appropriate way to grieve your loved one. Grief can intensify emotions and old conflicts can emerge. Conversations can be tense or hard to start as family members hide their emotions or erupt with anger.

Invisible grief such as a pregnancy loss or when a loss was a long time ago or you were not as close to the person who passed, can leave you feeling unacknowledged in your grief. You feel like you can’t discuss your grief, it doesn’t have a place which can leave you feeling alone and isolated.

Counselling in Alberta Can Help Navigate The Holidays

The holiday season can be filled with the stress of family expectations, finances, obligations and relationships. We know this time of year is hectic and overwhelming. Taking time for yourself might be hard to justify and adding counselling might be more stressful. For others navigating relationship conflict, grief, trauma and parenting children with meltdowns, counselling can be a lifeline through navigating the holiday season. If you are tired of putting counselling on the back burner, here’s how counselling could support you to sprinkle magic moments like glitter into your holiday season.

When stress and anxiety hit, therapy can help you figure out what's triggering those feelings and help you find ease. Navigating complex family dynamics, therapy can help you discover your fears and longings to communicate what you need. Grappling with grief and loss, therapy offers a compassionate space to process your emotions and create meaningful rituals to honour your loved one. Overall, therapy during the holidays can promote emotional well-being and resilience in the face of seasonal challenges.

Couples Counselling

Our team of therapists are specialized in couples counselling. They can help you reconnect, communicate and enjoy the holiday season together.

Parenting Support & Child Therapy with Desiree

Desiree offers individual child and teen, adult and couples counselling. She loves working with parents to support you in supporting your child. Desiree can help you look after yourself, cope with stressors and create a parenting plan over the holidays to reduce stress, tantrums, meltdowns, leading to more peaceful parenting moments.

Trauma Therapy with Ardelle

Ardelle offers individual adult and couples counselling. She is a trauma therapist who enjoys working with workplace trauma such as first responders or those with a trauma history of childhood, sexual, grief and PTSD. Ardelle can support you as an individual or couple with the triggers and activation that can naturally happen during the holiday season.

OCD, Anxiety and Trauma Therapy with Nadia

Nadia offers individual teen, adult, family therapy and couples counselling. She enjoys supporting those with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, trauma, interpersonal relationship concerns, parent-child attachment, OCD, mood disorders, ADHD, and substance use disorders. Nadia can help you feel calm heading into this holiday season.

Williamson & Associates Counselling in Olds, Alberta Offers Individual, Couples and Family Counselling in Alberta

Our team at Williamson & Associates wishes you a happy holiday with those you love. If we can support you to find more merry and peace during this season, please reach out to book your free phone consultation here.