How to cope with PTSD triggers during the holiday season
Holiday cheer can feel like a distant memory when you’re dealing with PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) and trauma triggers. In fact, trauma around the holidays can feel suffocating and isolating.
If you’re feeling the effects of holiday stress a little too much this year, we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll provide actionable tips for how to cope with PTSD triggers during the holiday season so you can find freedom and healing from past pains.
Trauma Triggers Can Affect Us More Around the Holidays
Trauma doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, lost a loved one to suicide, fought in a war, or experienced another traumatic incident; your response to what happened to you is valid.
And while everyone’s healing journey looks different, holiday stress can bring up feelings and emotions that lead to an increase in PTSD symptoms.
Simply put, heightened emotions often lead to heightened responses when you don’t have the tools to manage them. Even if what you’re experiencing in the moment isn’t directly linked to what happened in the past, stressful emotions and feelings of overwhelm can trigger something inside of you.
A study from Boston Clinical Trials shares that “After any type of trauma (from combat to car accidents, natural disasters to domestic violence, sexual assault to child abuse), the brain and body change. Every cell records memories, and every embedded, trauma-related neuropathway has the opportunity to repeatedly reactivate.”
This means that whatever the source of your trauma-related symptoms, your cells have been rewired to activate a trauma response.
While there are ways to deprogram your brain, we won’t go into too much detail on that here. Instead, we’d like to focus on ways you can move through and cope with your PTSD symptoms during this holiday season.
Tips for Coping with PTSD Triggers
1. Identify Your Triggers
Identifying what your triggers are is the first step to avoiding them. While that may sound simple, sometimes you don’t know something is a trigger until you experience it. That’s okay.
Focus on the ones you know right now and maybe even write them out ahead of time. Identify what they are and how they make you feel.
Do they give you anxiety and cause panic attacks? Do they make you angry? Do they cause you to fear?
Being in tune with your mind and body is the ultimate goal here, so you aren’t going into holiday celebrations and stressful situations unprepared.
2. Set Boundaries and Communicate Them
Once you know what your triggers are, start creating boundaries for yourself.
If there’s a particular place or situation around the holidays that always brings up negative thoughts and emotions, try avoiding them.
It’s not selfish not to go to a particular Christmas party or a fireworks show on New Year’s Eve. It’s not selfish to avoid crowds and shop online. It’s not selfish not to see an old friend when you’re back in town.
It’s also important to communicate those boundaries as needed. For example, if your family tradition has always been to go to your great-uncle’s house and you don’t feel safe there, share that you don’t feel comfortable going this year.
Maybe say something like, “I don’t feel safe in that space right now. I would love to stay home and bake some Christmas cookies this year and will see you all when you get back.”
Keep in mind you don’t owe anyone an explanation, but it can help to have your support system clued into what you’re going through. They can lend an empathetic ear, help you avoid situations that are detrimental to your mental health, and simply be there when you need them.
The goal is to honor where you are on your healing journey and act accordingly — no matter how anyone else feels.
3. Do Things That Make You Happy
If you’re battling PTSD symptoms, focus on the things that make you happy this holiday season!
And if you are mourning the fact that you don’t feel as carefree as you once did, find opportunities to create happy moments. Watch a movie. Phone a safe friend. Take a drive to look at the Christmas lights.
Creating little moments of joy and happiness can calm your anxious mind and allow you to ground yourself in the present.
You can even create a mantra for yourself, such as “I am safe. I am loved. I choose joy today.” Switch this up to be meaningful to you, and say it to yourself as often as needed.
Pair this mantra with a scent that brings you happy holiday memories, such as cinnamon or vanilla, and allow yourself to practice mindfulness in the midst of holiday stress.
4. Get Moving
The weather is often colder during the holiday season, leading to seasonal depression on top of PTSD from lack of sunlight and activity.
One of the best things you can do for your mind and body is get moving. It doesn’t have to an intense workout to be effective. Even walking for 10 minutes a day can help regulate your body and keep your mind from wandering into dangerous territory.
If the weather doesn’t lend itself to outdoor activities where you live, try opening all of the blinds to let some vitamin D in and turning on a song to dance around to. Not only will this work to boost your mood, but it will help you feel more aware of your body and aid in the mindfulness technique we mentioned above.
5. Create New Traditions
When you’re battling PTSD, old traditions can be triggers instead of the positive memories they maybe once were.
Don’t be afraid to create new traditions that better serve you. For example, if holiday crowds make you nervous or cause panic attacks, try making a pot of hot cider or cocoa at home and ordering in your favorite meal.
Pair this with a Hallmark Christmas movie or a holiday-inspired puzzle night, and you could create your new favorite tradition!
Also, if going home for the holidays brings you anxiety, try taking a solo vacation somewhere you love that feels calming and welcome this time of year.
It doesn’t have to be perfect or make sense to anyone else. This new tradition could be the self-care moment you need in the midst of the holiday stress.
Avoid Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
The tips above are positive ways to cope with how you’re feeling. But it’s no secret that all coping mechanisms aren’t healthy.
It’s important to avoid anything that could make your PTSD symptoms worse, so let’s take a look at a few of the things to avoid when it comes to coping with trauma triggers:
Alcohol
While alcohol may seem like a great way to escape what you’re facing, it can actually aggravate your trauma-related symptoms and make matters worse.
Avoid overindulging in alcohol, especially around the holidays, and focus on eating foods with the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function at its best.
Drugs
Drugs, including marijuana, can depress your nervous system, but they don’t allow you to address the root cause of your symptoms.
Instead of depressing your body’s systems, look for healthy ways to boost endorphins and regulate your hormones, like exercise or getting enough sleep.
Whatever you’re facing, having healthy coping mechanisms in place to help you get through the hard moments can help you avoid some of these depressive tendencies.
When to Seek Professional Help From a Trauma Therapist
If you find that you have consistent panic attacks, having thoughts of suicide or otherwise feel like you just can’t cope with the intrusive thoughts in your head, seek professional help.
There are trauma experts who can help you identify what’s going on and provide strategies and treatment methods that will allow you to find freedom.
Living Beyond Your Trauma This Season
Holiday stress can make your PTSD symptoms appear out of nowhere or exacerbate your feelings and emotions surrounding the holiday season.
Whether your trauma triggers are related to interpersonal situations, such as visiting family members, or overwhelming grief over the loss of a loved one, you are not alone.
With the right coping techniques and support system, you can survive the holidays with minimal disruptions to your day-to-day life. You may even find joy in the midst of the hard moments.
Hope for True Trauma Healing
Are you tired of just dealing with your trauma triggers as they come up? Are you ready to get to the root of your trauma so you can truly move forward?
Aspire Counseling is offering a trauma therapy intensive the week after Christmas this year. Even if you are in the throes of your PTSD battle, there is hope beyond your trauma triggers and healing on the other side.
For more information on how to pursue deeper healing and freedom and finally feel confident and excited about life again, visit our website to learn more about this powerful opportunity.
