Checking in with Your Mental Health This Holiday Season
As the holidays approach, how are you really feeling? While we’re surrounded by messages of joy and connection, this season can stir a surprising range of emotions. Everywhere we look, there are messages about creating the perfect gatherings, feeling endlessly grateful, and soaking in the “magic” of the season. But the truth is, for many people, the reality is more complicated. The holidays can bring excitement and nostalgia—but also stress, sadness, or tension.
That’s why this time of year can be an especially important opportunity to check in with your mental health. Rather than trying to match the picture-perfect narrative, it can help to pause and notice how you’re really feeling—your energy, your mood, your needs. Acknowledging the full range of your emotions doesn’t take away from the season; it makes the experience more honest, grounded, and ultimately kinder to yourself.
Notice What’s Coming Up for You
Before the whirlwind of holiday plans takes over, it can be helpful to pause and ask: How am I really feeling as the holidays approach?
This might sound simple, but it’s something many of us skip. We get swept into the planning such as gifts, gatherings, travel, and work deadlines, without slowing down to notice what emotions are actually sitting beneath the surface. Awareness is the first step toward caring for yourself more intentionally.
For some, this time of year brings excitement like a sense of connection, celebration, and anticipation. For others, it can bring tension or unease: the pressure to make everything perfect, the weight of family expectations, or memories that feel tender. Often, it’s both. We can feel grateful and stressed, joyful and exhausted, all at once.
You might take a few quiet minutes this week to check in with yourself:
What emotions come up when I think about the holidays?
What am I genuinely looking forward to this year?
What tends to feel stressful, overwhelming, or draining?
What do I need more of — rest, connection, solitude, structure, support?
You don’t need to “fix” anything that comes up. The goal isn’t to make uncomfortable feelings disappear, but to notice them with curiosity and compassion. Sometimes simply naming how we feel can soften its intensity and help us make clearer choices about what we need.
Awareness also helps us recognize patterns that might repeat each year — like feeling obligated to overcommit, taking on too much emotional labor, or neglecting our own rest. When you can notice those patterns early, you have more space to approach the season differently, with more intention and gentleness toward yourself.
When the Holidays Don’t Feel “Merry”
For some, the holiday season can be quite difficult, even painful. Perhaps you’re missing someone who has passed, facing family tension, or managing financial or personal stressors. Maybe your mental health struggles feel heavier than usual, and the constant messaging to be “joyful” only amplifies pressure or guilt.
It’s important to know: if the holidays don’t feel merry, that’s okay. Experiencing sadness, grief, or frustration doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Your emotions are valid, and acknowledging them is an essential part of self-care.
There are ways to navigate these difficult moments. You might choose to skip traditions that feel painful or create new rituals that honor your needs. Finding small ways to connect with supportive friends, engaging in quiet reflection, or reaching out to a mental health professional can also provide relief. Allowing yourself to experience the season authentically, without forcing cheerfulness, can be both healing and freeing.
Check in with Your Energy and Limits
Holiday gatherings, social events, and festive traditions can be draining, even for those who enjoy them. One of the kindest things you can do for yourself is to recognize your own energy limits and set boundaries accordingly.
Boundaries might look like saying no to an event, limiting the length of family visits, or politely declining commitments that feel overwhelming. They are not signs of selfishness but are ways to protect your capacity for presence, connection, and emotional balance.
Simple strategies can make a big difference: schedule downtime between events, communicate your limits with honesty and kindness, and focus on gatherings that feel meaningful to you. Honoring your energy allows you to engage more fully with the moments that truly matter.
Create Small Instances of Calm and Joy
Self-care doesn’t have to be elaborate. Some of the most grounding practices are small, accessible, and deeply restorative. Taking a short walk, journaling, practicing a few minutes of mindful breathing, or connecting with a trusted friend can help you feel centered.
Consider reconnecting with what makes the season meaningful for you, rather than what is expected by others. Small rituals like lighting a candle, making a simple meal you love, or listening to music that soothes your soul can anchor your mind and heart amidst the holiday busyness. These moments of calm are not just indulgences; they are essential tools for mental health.
Checking in with your mental health this holiday season is about pause, awareness, and gentle self-compassion. It’s about noticing your emotions, acknowledging when things are hard, and making space for what truly supports your well-being.
Whether your holidays are joyful, quiet, challenging, or bittersweet, it’s okay to show up exactly as you are. You don’t have to feel merry to be whole. Taking a few moments to pause, breathe, and check in with yourself is a gift to your mind, your heart, and your overall well-being.
Beginning Counseling in Washington, DC
If this season feels heavier than usual, you don’t have to navigate it on your own. At Manas Cor Psychological Services, our therapists offer individual therapy in Washington, DC to help you manage challenges like holiday stress, seasonal affective disorder, and emotional overwhelm.
Therapy can give you space to slow down, untangle what feels complicated, and find more balance during a time that often asks for more than you have to give. Whether you’re struggling with changes in mood, old patterns that resurface, or simply the weight of expectations, our compassionate clinicians can help you reconnect with yourself and approach this season with greater clarity and care.
Taking the first step toward support is an act of self-kindness—and it can make this time of year feel a little lighter.
Therapy as a Steady Place to Land This Holiday Season
As you move through the holiday season, you might notice that certain emotions feel louder, certain memories feel closer, or certain pressures feel heavier than you expected. And if that’s the case, you’re not alone. The truth is, navigating this time of year is rarely as simple as the picture-perfect scenes we see around us, especially when you’re already managing stress, grief, anxiety, or seasonal mood changes.
We offer psychotherapy in Washington, DC for people who want a safe, steady, nonjudgmental space to sort through what the holidays are bringing up. That could be stress, loneliness, exhaustion, family tension, or symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Working with a therapist can help you understand your patterns, strengthen your boundaries, reconnect with your needs, and practice caring for yourself in a way that feels doable and supportive.
Reach out to us here so we can get to know you better.
Explore our blog posts for more tips on checking in with your mental health.
If you’re ready to feel more grounded as the year comes to a close, we’re here to walk alongside you.
Other Mental Health Services We Offer in DC
In addition to individual therapy for holiday stress, we also provide psychological testing and assessment, and group therapy for adolescents and adults. Whether you're navigating anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationship challenges, or the lingering effects of past experiences, therapy offers a supportive space to process, reflect, and grow, both one-on-one and in community with others.
About the Author
Dr. Datta received her doctorate from the University of Virginia and currently serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at The George Washington University, where she provides supervision and classroom training for doctoral students in the Clinical Psychology PhD program.
At Manas Cor Psychological Services, Dr. Datta specializes in supporting clients through complex and interpersonal trauma, severe mood disorders, grief and loss, and identity development, particularly among professionals and women of color.
Outside of her clinical work, Dr. Datta enjoys diving into a good book and exploring the world of video games.
