Creating Calm in a Season of Overwhelm
December has a way of sneaking up on us—not gently, but with the force of a season packed with expectations, deadlines, family dynamics, financial pressures, disrupted routines, and the fatigue of an entire year catching up at once. Even the most grounded, organized, emotionally regulated people often find themselves stretched thin by the time the holidays arrive.
If you feel overwhelmed, behind, reactive, or simply exhausted, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re not failing at “holiday spirit.” You’re not supposed to be endlessly cheerful or energized. This time of year can be incredibly demanding, and your nervous system is likely responding exactly as it was designed to: by signaling that you’re at capacity.
As a therapist, I see this every December. Clients describe feeling foggy, highly emotional, short-tempered, disconnected, “on edge,” or simply worn out. Many struggle with the emotional layers that holidays tend to stir up—grief, family of origin wounds, loneliness, pressure to perform, or the invisible labor that comes with creating a meaningful holiday for others. Some are navigating complicated co-parenting schedules, financial stress, or the ache of not having the holiday they hoped for.
So if this season feels heavy or overwhelming for you, I want you to know: you are not alone, and there is nothing wrong with you. You are human. And you deserve support, relief, and space to breathe.
Why December Feels So Big
December brings a unique convergence of stressors:
• End-of-year work deadlines
• School or academic pressure
• Travel disruptions and chaos
• Family expectations and emotional triggers
• Increased financial strain
• Reduced daylight and changes in routine
• Grief that resurfaces when holidays highlight what’s missing
• The emotional whiplash of “supposed to feel happy” when you don’t
All of this lands on a nervous system that may already be taxed from an entire year of carrying responsibilities, navigating challenges, and holding emotional weight for yourself or others.
Perhaps most importantly: your body remembers. Trauma, stress, and emotional fatigue don’t pause for the holidays. In fact, they often get louder.
This is where therapeutic support, grounding skills, and trauma-informed approaches—like EMDR and somatic attunement—become invaluable.
A Simple Grounding Exercise When Everything Feels Too Heavy
When overwhelm rises, your brain shifts into survival mode. Logical thinking narrows, emotional reactivity increases, and your body may move into fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown. Grounding techniques can help bring the nervous system out of overwhelm and back into the present moment.
Here’s one I often teach clients—a 60-second sensory reset you can do almost anywhere:
The 5-2-5 Sensory Anchor
Pause and place both feet on the floor. Feel the contact point between your shoes or socks and the ground.
Inhale slowly for a count of 5. Imagine the air filling your lower ribs first.
Name two things you can feel physically (your sweater on your arms, the chair beneath you, the warmth of your hands).
Exhale for a count of 5. Let your shoulders drop—even a millimeter.
Name two neutral objects you can see in the room or space around you.
Repeat two rounds.
This brief sequence engages both your sensory system and your breath, which signals safety to the nervous system. It gently pulls your mind out of spiraling thoughts or emotional overload and brings you back into your body without forcing anything. Clients report feeling more present, less reactive, and more capable of choosing their next step rather than acting from stress.
How Trauma-Informed, EMDR-Centered Therapy Creates Space and Steadiness
My clinical approach is intentionally grounded in trauma-informed care, somatic awareness, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). These modalities help clients not only manage stress but transform the way their nervous system responds to it.
Trauma-Informed Support
A trauma-informed lens recognizes that overwhelm is not a personality flaw—it is often a physiological response. Therapy becomes a space where you can safely explore patterns, understand what your body is signaling, and build the skills needed to navigate triggers without shutting down.
EMDR for Nervous System Relief
EMDR helps the brain reprocess stored, unhealed experiences so they stop activating as strongly in the present. Many clients enter December carrying years of holiday-related emotional memory:
• Childhood chaos
• Family conflict
• Loneliness
• Feeling responsible for keeping the peace
• Unpredictable caregivers
• The pressure to make everything “perfect”
EMDR helps reduce the intensity of those old emotional imprints so you can enter the season with more clarity, calm, and choice—not just survival patterns.
Somatic & Sensory Grounding
Therapy includes helping you understand your body’s cues and giving you real-life tools to stay regulated. Overwhelm becomes easier to manage when you can recognize the early signals and respond with compassion rather than criticism.
Together, these approaches help create internal steadiness even when life around you feels loud, crowded, or chaotic.
You Don’t Have to Carry This Month Alone
If you’re feeling stretched thin, overstimulated, or emotionally overloaded as December unfolds, therapy can be a place where you can slow down, take a breath, and reconnect with yourself. You don’t have to keep pushing through the overwhelm on your own.
If you’re curious what support could look like, you’re welcome to schedule an appointment. Together we can talk about what you’re experiencing, what you’re longing for, and how therapy can help create pockets of calm and clarity—even in the busiest seasons.
Your internal world deserves just as much attention as everything you’re trying to manage externally.
Schedule an appointment and find your way back to yourself, with less anxiety and more ease in Houston, Texas.