How to Manage Holiday Overwhelm and Stay Present
Honoring Your Nervous System During a Tender Season
The holiday season can hold so many layers at once: nostalgia and ache, joy and longing, togetherness and the quiet recognition that life looks different than it used to. If you’re navigating grief during the holidays, a first Christmas without a loved one, a changing identity, caregiving burnout, or a transition that others can’t see, this time of year may feel overwhelming in ways that surprise you.
Even when the lights are twinkling, your mind may be buzzing with tasks, emotional triggers, and expectations—both spoken and unspoken. You may find it hard to stay present during the holidays, even if you deeply want to savor what matters most.
If this resonates, you’re not alone. Your experience makes sense.
Today’s practice: hold warmth. Let it be enough.
Why the Holidays Increase Overwhelm
Many people think of the holidays as purely joyful, but the truth is that this season carries a very real emotional load—especially for those navigating change, loss, or transitions that haven’t been fully tended to.
Some common sources of holiday overwhelm include:
Emotional and relational pressures
Family dynamics that activate old patterns
Fear of feeling emotional at the holiday table
Missing someone who was always part of your rituals
The pressure to “be okay” for others
Life transitions and grief flare-ups
Grief often moves in cycles. This season can re-open:
memories of traditions
anniversaries
milestones your person should be here for
Even quiet changes—like retirement, empty nesting, a breakup, or relocating—can create a sense of disorientation.
External stressors
Packed schedules and lack of downtime
Financial strain and gift expectations
Holiday travel and sensory overwhelm
Perfectionism, especially for caregivers who have always “held it all”
For many, the holidays amplify what’s already happening in the nervous system. When our capacity is already stretched, additional stress—no matter how small—can feel like too much.
Feeling overwhelmed is not a personal failing. It’s a normal nervous system response to emotional demand.
Recognizing Your Early “Overwhelm” Signals
Your body often speaks before your mind has the words. When we learn to listen to subtle cues, we can respond with care rather than waiting for full burnout.
Physical signs
Tightness in your jaw or shoulders
Changes in appetite
Shallow breathing or frequent sighing
Fatigue even after resting
Difficulty focusing
Headaches, stomach aches, or tension
Emotional signs
Feeling easily irritated
Crying unexpectedly
Feeling disconnected or numb
Over-functioning: doing more to outrun discomfort
Feeling pressured to make everything “perfect”
Avoiding conversations or withdrawing
These signals are your nervous system gently asking for support—not judgment. They are early invitations to pause, breathe, and reconnect.
Strategies to Stay Present During the Holidays
Embodied presence isn’t about forcing yourself to feel joyful or pretending everything is okay. It’s about creating micro-moments of groundedness so you can move through the season gently.
Here are practices many of my grief coaching online clients use during tender holiday seasons:
Choose One Daily “Non-Negotiable” Moment
This might be:
lighting a candle for your loved one
drinking tea in silence before the day starts
stepping outside for fresh air
placing a hand on your heart and breathing for one minute
Presence is built moment by moment—not in grand plans.
Slow the Pace
Look at your schedule and gently ask: What expectations can I release?
Consider:
declining one event
replacing elaborate traditions with simpler ones
making space for stillness
This is not neglecting the holiday—it’s protecting your capacity.
Create Technology Boundaries
The constant input from digital devices increases mental stimulation.
Try:
no email after dinner
putting your phone in another room while connecting with someone you love
choosing mindfulness over endless scrolling
Small boundaries help quiet the nervous system.
4. Practice Somatic Grounding
Somatic grief healing is especially powerful during the holidays because grief is held in the body.
Try:
feeling your feet on the floor
lengthening your exhale
placing weight (a blanket, a hand, a pillow) over your chest
orienting: look slowly around the room, name five things you see
These shifts send your body a message of safety.
5. Allow Holiday Grief Rituals
Honoring your experience creates space for relief.
write a letter to the person you are missing
cook one dish they loved
include their name in a toast
carry their jewelry or scarf
These rituals help grief move through the body rather than getting stuck in the mind. Support through holiday grief course provides tools for honoring your experience by honoring these rituals.
How Coaching Helps During the Holidays
For many midlife caregivers, teachers, medical professionals, and those who have been the strong one for others, it can feel vulnerable to ask for help. But this may be the first season that your nervous system is saying, “I need to be held, too.”
Coaching support isn’t just for grief—it’s for the human experience of loss and transition. Trauma-informed embodied grief support and body-based grief healing can help you:
understand your overwhelm signals
create personalized strategies for holiday stress management
process emotions that surface during the season
learn simple ways to stay present during the holidays
reconnect to your body with compassion
Many people prefer gentle, somatic approaches over talk therapy alone—especially for complex grief, relational wounds, or overwhelming transitions.
Through online grief coaching, Zoom grief support groups, and online workshops, you can receive guidance from the comfort of your home—no travel, no pressure, no expectations.
This season might also be the right moment to consider a grief healing retreat in the new year—giving your body space to rest, reset, and repair.
You deserve a space where your experience is honored, not minimized.
A Gentle Invitation
If staying grounded feels difficult this year—or if you’re facing your first Christmas without a loved one—support is available.
I work with people navigating grief, caregiving, transitions, and quiet identity shifts through somatic grief healing, grief coaching online, and gentle holiday coaching support that honors the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.
Sometimes, the most courageous choice is allowing someone to hold space for you.
If you’d like support through the holidays, I invite you to schedule a complimentary discovery call. We can explore what you’re carrying right now, and find a path that supports your nervous system, your grief, and the truth of your experience.
You don’t have to walk this season alone.
Dawn M. Geoppinger, Trauma-Informed Grief & Embodiment Coach
Dawn M. Geoppinger is a Trauma-Informed Grief & Embodiment Coach based in Portland, Oregon, with a strong foundation of over two decades of professional experience in public administration, education, and the nonprofit sector. She specializes in grief education, somatic movement, breathwork, and mindfulness, integrating evidence-based approaches such as somatic practices, post-traumatic growth and woman-centered principles to help clients reconnect with themselves, regulate their nervous systems, and honor the full spectrum of loss and healing. Through her practice, The Embodied Grief Journey™, Dawn provides compassionate, expert support both in person and online—creating safe, nurturing spaces for individuals to explore grief, resilience, and embodied healing.
You Deserve Support, Too
If this season feels like too much—too many expectations, too many emotions, not enough time to breathe—there is space for you here.
I support people navigating holiday overwhelm, grief during the holidays, and the tender complexity of transitions through trauma-informed grief support, body-based healing practices, and gentle coaching online. Everything we do together is paced to your nervous system, not the holiday calendar.
You’ve held so much for so long. It’s okay to be supported now.
If you’d like companionship through this season—even for a few weeks—I invite you to schedule a complimentary discovery call. We can talk about what’s arising, what you’re longing for, and what support might look like right now.
You’re allowed to rest into care this season.
