The Curvy FashionistaThe Curvy FashionistaThe Curvy Fashionista
Notification Show More
Aa
  • News
    News
    Looking the the latest plus size fashion and industry news around designers, influencers, and community happenings? Your plus size media publisher has you covered with…
    Show More
    Top News
    Duo Boots Giveaway on The Curvy Fashionista
    #TCFTurns5 Giveaway: Step into Style With the Duo Boots Giveaway!
    10 years ago
    Big Fig MattressXTCFStyle Expo
    Big Fig Mattress Giveaway!!!
    4 years ago
    Celebrating 200k FB Fans- It is a Spring #TCFStyle Giveaway with Simply Be!
    Celebrating 200k FB Fans- It is a Spring #TCFStyle Giveaway with Simply Be!
    10 years ago
    Latest News
    TCTurns15! Celebrate with Us with a City Chic Giveaway!
    2 months ago
    Felicity is back with her 5th Felicity Hayward x Playful Promises Collection!
    2 months ago
    TCFTurns15: We are Giving Away 15 Gift Cards in this Eloquii Giveaway!
    3 months ago
    Meet Keia Bounds, the Costume Designer Behind All THOSE Looks on “Survival of the Thickest”
    3 months ago
  • Style
    Style
    Yes, plus size style options exist and we are here to share the latest style finds, news, updates, and plus size style tips & tricks…
    Show More
    Top News
    Plus size woman Walking
    LETS TALK: Design Elements in Plus Size Clothes that KILL ME.
    11 years ago
    Duo Boots Giveaway on The Curvy Fashionista
    #TCFTurns5 Giveaway: Step into Style With the Duo Boots Giveaway!
    10 years ago
    Celebrating 200k FB Fans- It is a Spring #TCFStyle Giveaway with Simply Be!
    Celebrating 200k FB Fans- It is a Spring #TCFStyle Giveaway with Simply Be!
    10 years ago
    Latest News
    Before You Start Shopping for Fall, Check Out These 5 Fall Plus Size Shopping Tips!
    3 weeks ago
    The Nina Sharae Experience is dripping with sexy, plus size swimwear
    2 months ago
    Felicity is back with her 5th Felicity Hayward x Playful Promises Collection!
    2 months ago
    If You’re Still Looking for a Fun Plus Size Bathing Suit, Hilary Macmillan Swimwear Has Got You Covered!
    3 months ago
  • Shopping
    Shopping
    Wondering where to find specific plus size clothing items for that special occasion or need? The best plus size shopping finds are here. We’ve done…
    Show More
    Top News
    Plus size woman Walking
    LETS TALK: Design Elements in Plus Size Clothes that KILL ME.
    11 years ago
    Spring #TCFStyle Giveaway with Hips and Curves
    Celebrating 200k FB Fans- It is a Spring #TCFStyle Giveaway with Hips and Curves!
    10 years ago
    Valentine’s Day Curvy Couture Plus Size Lingerie Giveaway
    A Valentine’s Day Curvy Couture Plus Size Lingerie Giveaway
    10 years ago
    Latest News
    3 Plus Size Apps That Will Up Your Confidence
    1 week ago
    Felicity is back with her 5th Felicity Hayward x Playful Promises Collection!
    2 months ago
    Here’s Where to Find the Perfect Hats for Big Heads Big Hair for the Summer!
    3 months ago
    Steal the Spotlight in one of these 15 Must Have Plus Size Little Black Dresses for the Summer!
    3 months ago
  • Wellness
    Wellness
    Let’s talk about self-care, self-love, body image, and related topics to wellness and life as a plus size person!
    Show More
    Top News
    Torrid's Feature of Tiffany from On The Fatwalk
    The Enabling of Self Loathers and Shame – A Facebook Observation of Torrid
    12 years ago
    Rescue Stress relief
    Finding My Own Rescue Remedy & Taking Better Care of Myself…
    7 years ago
    Meeting my father and his/my family
    Staring into His Eyes for the First Time- Meeting my Father
    10 years ago
    Latest News
    Is Weed Yoga Really Worth It? We Tried it and Found Out!
    1 week ago
    5 Plus Size Pregnancy Myths To Watch Out For When You’re Expecting
    2 weeks ago
    The Labor Day Sales Our Plus Size Editors Are Shopping (And What They’re Looking For)
    4 weeks ago
    Behind the BMI: A History and Why The AMA is Discouraging its Use
    2 months ago
  • Lifestyle
    Lifestyle
    There is so much more to a plus size fashion lover and we are highlighting the various topics from plus size celebrity fashion and style,…
    Show More
    Top News
    Open Letter Tim Gunn
    An Open Letter: Dear Tim Gunn, Let’s Make It Work
    10 years ago
    2017 MTV Move & TV Awards, chrissy metz, plus size celebrity
    ‘I Wear What I Want, When I Want’: Chrissy Metz Slays In Red at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards
    6 years ago
    25 women of color e1615188552216
    25 Women Of Color Who Paved The Way for Body Positivity & Plus Size Fashion
    3 years ago
    Latest News
    3 Plus Size Apps That Will Up Your Confidence
    1 week ago
    Is Weed Yoga Really Worth It? We Tried it and Found Out!
    1 week ago
    How Coco Chanel Helped Me Stay True to My Plus Size Self in Paris
    2 months ago
    6 Tips for Raising Children (and Yourself) in a Body Positive Environment
    3 months ago
  • Shop TCF
Search TCF
More
  • Events
    • TCFStyle Brunch Series
  • Curvy & Plus Size Fashion Resources
  • About The Curvy Fashionista
  • Advertising
  • Contact
© 2008- 2023 · by TCFStyle Media · All Rights Reserved ·
Reading: 5 Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season
Aa
The Curvy FashionistaThe Curvy Fashionista
  • News
  • Style
  • Shopping
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Shop TCF
Search TCF
  • About
  • News
  • Style
  • Shopping
  • Wellness
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Write for TCF
  • Contact
Sign In Sign In
Follow US
  • Login
  • Community Guidelines
  • Style Star Ambassadors
  • TCFStyle Influencer Network
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact
© 2008- 2021 · by TCFStyle Media · All Rights Reserved ·
Body Image

5 Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season

Rachel Otis
Last updated: 12/23/2022
By Rachel Otis 11 Min Read
Share
Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season
Photo by Katelyn Scott
Table of Contents
Tool 1. Take Space As NeededTool 2. Create An Energetic “Safe Bubble”Tool 3. Learn And Practice That You Are Allowed To Have And Set BoundariesTherapeutic Tool 4. Find An Ally Within Your Holiday Communities Tool 5. Remain Connected To Your Body

Although the majority of pop-culture depiction of the holidays leaves a warm, fuzzy, and connected familial feeling, it is important to acknowledge and validate that the holidays can be hard for many of us; the overwhelmed, the anxious, the lonely, the othered, the depressed, and even those with the most loving of families. Don’t worry, there are therapeutic tools that can help so you don’t face this alone. 

The good part of that sometimes difficult truth is that if you are reading this now, it means you already survived the start of the holiday slide that is Thanksgiving (or Thanks-taking as my Micmac family cheekily calls it).

Congratulations to you, and quite frankly to me too; we did it!

No matter what iteration of an experience you had at Thanksgiving, you are now on the other side. But with no shortage of Christmas carols blaring at every turn, we are also now reminded of the impending presence (no matter our religious beliefs) of December 25th.

Then, there’s the quick follow-up of New Year’s. And let’s be real, New Year’s can ultimately trigger our feelings of failure around every resolution we ever made but could never keep. 

This year, I am here as your virtual therapist to say:

Eff all of these emotionally disruptive traditions and rituals we have unconsciously agreed to in the past.

Let’s cultivate resources and use therapeutic tools to cope with our present rather than repeat the pattern of inundating ourselves with societal norms.

For example, the juxtaposition of a time of year that focuses so heavily on food being followed-up with a time of year focused so strongly on diet and weight-loss, has the potential to feel disorienting and confusing at best, triggering and traumatizing at worst.

Before we go any further, I want to honor that I hold zero judgement around any of these holiday experiences.

In fact, I am transparently naming that even as a therapist and body activist I can experience these feelings as well (yes, we are shockingly human too!) These feelings are not wrong, but we can also honor that they no longer serve us in any way. 

So, say a big “see ya” to any feelings of impostor syndrome or self-gaslighting and say hello to these five therapeutic tools to get you through the holidays! 

5 Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season

Tool 1. Take Space As Needed

Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season
Photo by Katelyn Scott

There are a lot of unspoken rules that exist within families whom we very may well be spending the holidays with, which ultimately correspond to how we are physically and emotionally holding and posturing ourselves in any given instance.

If you’re still in your decision-making process for what you are going to do/where you are going to spend this time, I would urge you to really sit with what is coming up for you around it.

Do you feel excited to visit? Do you feel like you are obligated to? Is there any new holiday tradition you can envision creating as an alternative?

Check-in with yourself about any unspoken “rules” that may exist around your ability to take up space. Is it something that is encouraged in your family or have you been taught to keep yourself small?

Perhaps in the past, you felt you needed to dress more modestly or speak or eat less, not sharing your opinion or hiding parts of yourself. 

Do you notice how you typically feel in your body when you are around them? Does this thought trigger any any sensations/feelings/thoughts/memories?

Allow yourself to cultivate awareness of how you feel in relation to taking up space around the holidays can be an important opportunity to learn more about our needs and how to have them met. 

This holiday season, I want to invite you to TAKE UP SPACE! Live for a moment in the capitalized letters of LIFE. Allow yourself to feel big; large; to feel the sensations of spaciousness itself (whatever that means for you).

Maybe it looks like going for that extra slice of pie, maybe it means cultivating awareness of when the space you want or need to take-up may be in a different location than your family.

Whatever it means for you; honor it. 

Tool 2. Create An Energetic “Safe Bubble”

Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season
Photo by Katelyn Scott

Along with the many unspoken holiday rules that get passed down via our families or society, there is also A LOT of energy coming together in one space.

Sometimes energy feels like tension or discomfort; sometimes it feels angry or awkward; sometimes it feels positive and joyful; sometimes it feels like judgement or misunderstanding.

Whatever you have experienced in the past being projected upon you by others has been their energy not yours. So this holiday go-around, I want to invite you to cultivate this affirmation as a therapeutic tool: “Their energy is theirs. My energy is mine.”

Use it liberally and often. 

Additionally, utilize your imagination space to create your own energetic safe bubble of sorts to protect against the emotional vampires tapped out on eggnog. I invite you to do this far before you have to engage with various holiday events that you know may be triggering for you.

Take a few moments to mindfully create exactly what the energetic protection is going to look and feel like for you (for example, mine is a burnt orange ever-moving blob of warm energy). Find one way to call this into a physical entity you can bring with you throughout the holidays.

I personally swear by my essential oil sprays and certain rocks and crystals.

The goal of this is so that when your aunt Linda inevitably tells you that you, “don’t really need to eat that,” you can imagine that projection just bouncing off your bubble so that you don’t internalize it as truth

Tool 3. Learn And Practice That You Are Allowed To Have And Set Boundaries

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rachel Otis Therapy, M.A. (@somewhere_under_the_rainbow)

The “safe bubble” point above is a tremendous example of this! Even when holiday cheer is being forced upon us, we have the right to say no. We have the right to have needs that we communicate.

We have the right to get curious about the most sustainable ways for us to spend our time throughout this season.

Again, our loved ones may require being taught (whether indirectly through modeling or directly through communicated rules/beliefs/norms) to respect our boundaries. 

Therapeutic Tool 4. Find An Ally Within Your Holiday Communities 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rachel Otis Therapy, M.A. (@somewhere_under_the_rainbow)

Whether you spend time with your family of origin, your chosen family, or both, being in a larger group can oftentimes feel overwhelming.

It’s not always the case that we feel fully safe with every person involved in any given party or dinner dynamics, and that’s also okay.

Choose one closely pre-appointed ally who will also be present in that situation who can essentially be a support system when needed (and this can go both ways). 

This might look like having an open conversation with this person beforehand and together creating a “plan B,” or a “time for a bathroom break signal,” or perhaps a safe-word or gesture that means, “I’m feeling super triggered right now, help!”

And, another pre-agreed upon physical way to invite us to physically come out of this trigger (i.e. a hug or a hand squeeze). Please remember here that there is no right or wrong answers, but only what feels most nourishing for your mind-body.

I know for me, having that ally signifies to my system that I’m not alone (even if my anxiety is starting to feel that way).

Tool 5. Remain Connected To Your Body

Therapeutic Tools To Help You Through the Holiday Season
Photo by Katelyn Scott

As a somatic therapist, I’m very passionate about cultivating your awareness of your mind-body connection every month out of the year, but especially throughout times of heightened triggers like the holidays.

Allowing yourself to stay connected to the sensations, emotions, thoughts, feelings, images, and memories that arise is an important act of self care.

When you may notice yourself slipping into a heightened state of overwhelm or freezing into a state of dissociation, tap into your body as a resource. Allow your body to ground you and to be your safe harbor amongst those potentially stormy seas!

No matter which therapeutic tools you use to help yourself throughout this holiday season, allowing yourself to do so creates a new pathway of a tradition for you to cultivate and nurture.

I know it isn’t easy, but I also know that I believe in our human capacity for resilience and wholeheartedly believe in your ability to tap into that! 

What therapeutic tools do you use to help yourself through the holidays? 

TAGGED: mental health, self care, self love
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Copy Link Print
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

plus size light skinned woman with shoulder length brown hair looking at a phone holding a debit card
Fashion

3 Plus Size Apps That Will Up Your Confidence

You May Also Enjoy

white plus size woman with hair braided back, matching teal yoga set, sitting on a yoga mat in meditation
Health and Fitness

Is Weed Yoga Really Worth It? We Tried it and Found Out!

Jillian Pfennig By Jillian Pfennig
plus size pregnancy myths - Image via @fatpositivefertility
Body Politics

5 Plus Size Pregnancy Myths To Watch Out For When You’re Expecting

mightymurphin By mightymurphin
Beauty

The Labor Day Sales Our Plus Size Editors Are Shopping (And What They’re Looking For)

Micah Gause By Micah Gause
BMI - @kathyharvey.rd
Body Politics

Behind the BMI: A History and Why The AMA is Discouraging its Use

mightymurphin By mightymurphin
Plus Size in Paris by Erin Zhurkin
Culture

How Coco Chanel Helped Me Stay True to My Plus Size Self in Paris

Guest Blogger By Guest Blogger
Five Hey Dewy facial humidifiers lay on a white background.
Beauty

This Portable Humidifier is My New Travel Bestie

Micah Gause By Micah Gause
  • News
  • Style
  • Shopping
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Shop TCF
  • Events
  • Get Featured
  • Plus Size Resources
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Instagram Facebook-f Twitter Pinterest Youtube
© 2008- 2023 · by TCFStyle Media · All Rights Reserved ·
The Curvy Fashionista Logo
Welcome Back!

Please Sign in to Your Account

Lost your password?