The Stress Cycle of the Holidays - and How to Break It.
The holiday season has a weird vibe, doesn’t it. Half magical and cozy and half chaotic and frenzied. Rolling into December most of us don’t realize we have spent 11 months in a nearly constant state of activation - deadlines, caregiving, stress, transitions, emotions and responsibilities layering on top of each other with very few dedicated and extended pauses.
Your brain tries to keep up but your nervous system is sending out subtle messages.
Difficulty focusing
Feeling “on edge”
Irritability
Restlessness
Emotional swings
Fatigue that doesn’t lift
Forgetfulness
Trouble switching tasks
A feeling of being “revved up” and exhausted at the same time
These are not personality flaws.
This is biology.
Your brain and body are talking to you.
🧠 The Stress Cycle: What is Actually Happening in Your Brain
Your brain is built for short spurts of stress, not months long drawn out stress. Here is what is happening in your brain with the slow-drip of stress.
Your Amygdala (brain alarm system) Stays Activated
When stress is chronic, your amygdala becomes more sensitive and reactive.
It starts sounding the alarm for things that aren’t real dangers.
You feel triggered more easily
You catastrophize more quickly
Small things suddenly feel huge
2. Cortisol floods the system and doesn’t drain
Cortisol, your main stress hormone, is designed to:
sharpen your focus
mobilize energy
help you push through challenges
But when cortisol stays high:
sleep becomes disrupted
digestion slows
emotional regulation weakens
inflammation increases
your threshold for stress shrinks
your brain becomes more sensitive to negative information
High cortisol is like running your body on emergency generator power for way too long.
3. The Prefrontal Cortex (your calm, clear, thinking brain) goes offline
This part of the brain handles
problem-solving
empathy
planning
decision making
mood regulation
When chronic cortisol dampens the Prefrontal Cortex’s functioning
your feel foggy
your are forgetful
you have difficulty making decisions
you get overwhelmed quicker
you don’t feel like your typical self
4. The Hippocampus (memory + safety) gets tired
This region helps you differentiate actual threats from false alarms.
Long-term cortisol makes it sluggish.
everything feels like “too much”
you keep reliving negative moments
it’s harder to calm down
🌿The Recovery Cycle: How the Nervous System Actually Comes Back Into Balance
This is the part most people don’t understand:
Your nervous system can recover. But recovery requires intentional slowness, safety, and consistency.
Here’s how the system resets:
The Safety Signal
You need moments that tell your brain, “your safe now, you can power down”
These can be tiny steps/moments
a slow exhale
warm tea
quiet moments
grounding sensations
sunlight
being around safe people
Without these cues, cortisol levels stay high and the system never leaves the “survival mode”
2. Cortisol Drain
t takes time — hours to days — for cortisol levels to fall after staying elevated.
Your brain needs repeated small signals of calm to lower the “waterline.”
This is why:
1 day off isn’t enough
a single bubble bath doesn’t fix burnout
your weekend still feels exhausting
Your system needs multiple days of regulated rhythms to reset.
3. Prefrontal Cortex Wake UP
As cortisol decreases your Prefrontal Cortex, your logical brain, slowly wakes up.
You start to feel:
clearer
calmer
more grounded
more hopeful
more like yourself
This is why the slowing-down phase is non-negotiable before the new year.
So Why Rest is Not Optional in the Holiday Season
Because your nervous system is finishing a marathon it didn’t sign up for.
Because your brain needs the pressure to drop so it can heal.
Because your emotional bandwidth doesn’t magically refill just because there are twinkle lights, peppermint mochas, and holiday playlists everywhere.
The Holiday Season is not the time to push harder.
It’s the time for deliberate and extended pauses.
⭐️ Simple Ways to Support Your Nervous System
Practice the 4-7-8 breath daily with intention
Take a pause/quiet moment when switching tasks
Add a sensory comfort (warmth, light, texture)
Limit over-stimulation, one event a day
Replace morning scrolling with 2 minutes of sunlight
Say “No” kindly and firmly to anything that sounds draining
Let yourself rest without earning it.
Your brain will thank you. Your body will thank you. Your future self will thank you.
💚 Closing Thought
Rest isn’t weakness. Rest is what keeps you being you.
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