At VOX Mental Health, we often hear clients say they feel pressure to enjoy the holidays, yet many find this season emotionally challenging. Family dynamics, grief, changing traditions, financial stress, and burnout can all intensify during this time. If the holidays feel harder than expected, you’re not alone, and there are ways to support your mental well-being through it.

Understanding the mental health challenges that often show up during the holidays can help normalize your experience and make it easier to respond with compassion and care.

1. Family Dynamics and Emotional Triggers during the Holidays

Holiday gatherings can bring together people, histories, and unresolved dynamics. Old roles, conflicts, or expectations may resurface, even if they have been dormant for much of the year. Many people feel pressure to “keep the peace” or maintain appearances, which can lead to anxiety, resentment, or emotional withdrawal.

Supportive strategies include: setting boundaries around time, topics of conversation, and emotional labour. Taking breaks, planning shorter visits, or choosing not to engage in difficult discussions can help protect your mental well-being.

2. Overwhelm, Burnout, and Emotional Fatigue during the Holidays

The holidays often come with packed schedules and long to-do lists. Planning, hosting, traveling, shopping, and social commitments can quickly become overwhelming, especially for those already feeling stretched thin.

Burnout can show up as irritability, exhaustion, low mood, or difficulty sleeping. Scaling back expectations, delegating tasks, and allowing yourself to prioritize rest can make the season more manageable. Fewer meaningful commitments often feel better than trying to do everything.

3. Financial Stress and Pressure during the Holidays

Holiday spending can create or intensify financial strain. Gifts, meals, travel, and events may lead to stress, guilt, or shame- particularly for those navigating tight budgets or financial uncertainty.

Setting realistic spending limits and communicating openly with loved ones about financial boundaries can reduce pressure. Many people find that shared experiences, time together, or thoughtful gestures carry more meaning than costly gifts.

4. Grief, Loss, and Absence during the Holidays

The holidays can be especially painful for those grieving the loss of a loved one, a relationship, or a sense of family connection. Traditions, memories, and gatherings can highlight what, or who, is missing.

Grief often becomes louder during the holidays. Creating space to honour loss, adjust traditions, or establish new rituals can help. Support from friends, family, or a therapist can make a meaningful difference during this time.

5. The Mental Health Impact of Changing or Dissolving Family Traditions

As families evolve, traditions often change. Divorce, estrangement, blended families, aging parents, or geographic distance can mean that familiar holiday routines no longer exist. This shift can bring sadness, disorientation, or a sense of loss, even when the change is necessary or healthy.

It is common to grieve the version of the holidays you once had. Allowing space for this grief—while slowly creating new traditions that reflect your current values and circumstances—can help ease the transition.

6. The Post-Holiday Emotional Letdown

The days between major holidays and the start of the new year can feel surprisingly difficult. After weeks of anticipation and activity, the sudden quiet can bring low mood, restlessness, or anxiety.

Gentle transitions back into routine, small daily goals, and maintaining comforting rituals can help anchor this period. There is no need to rush into productivity or “reset” immediately.

7. Pressure Around New Year’s Resolutions

The push for self-improvement at the start of the year can be motivating, but it can also feel heavy. Resolutions rooted in perfectionism or self-criticism often lead to disappointment and immense shame.

More sustainable change comes from setting values-based, realistic intentions. Small, achievable steps that support mental health tend to be more effective than dramatic overhauls.

There Is No “Right” Way to Feel during the Holidays

The holidays are emotionally layered. Joy and grief, connection and loneliness, gratitude and stress can coexist. Experiencing difficulty during this season does not mean you are doing it wrong.

If the holidays bring up distress, reaching out for support can be an important act of self-care. Therapy can provide a space to process emotions, navigate family dynamics, and develop coping strategies that extend well beyond the holiday season. Our team here at VOX Mental Health is here for you.