If the Holidays Feel Overwhelming… Read This.
Let me tell you something I hear from women every single year:
“I’m already stressed about the holidays… but I feel like I have to do what’s expected of me.”
And every time, I ask the same thing:
“According to who?”
Because here’s the reality most women were never allowed to say out loud:
A lot of the holiday expectations you’re carrying weren’t just created before you had a say - they were created before you were even born. They’re someone else’s blueprint, someone else’s version of “tradition,” someone else’s idea of what a holiday should look like.
And you inherited the stress that came with it.
Think about it.
From being told to “perform” for guests as a kid (hello piano recitals in the living room while adults pretended to watch)
to the layers of place settings, the multi-course meals, the impossible schedules, the travel, the judgment, the pressure to host, the pressure to attend, the pressure to smile, the pressure to “be festive,” the pressure to not make it awkward, the pressure to keep everyone comfortable…
I’m stressed even writing that down.
And yet every year, women blame themselves for not handling it better.
But let’s be brutally honest: these traditions were never designed to serve you. They were designed to serve someone else:
To impress. To perform. To keep the peace. To maintain an image. To follow what previous generations insisted was “the right way.” To keep companies selling you things you don’t even want but feel guilty not buying.
If traditions never evolved, imagine what we’d still be doing today. (Hint: a lot of miserable things.)
Here’s the part that matters most:
You are allowed to create a holiday that feels good for you — even if it looks nothing like the one you grew up with.
Traditions can shift. Expectations can change. Your needs can lead. Your peace can matter. You can build something new.
And if you’re done walking into another year feeling obligated, resentful, or exhausted?
I’m teaching exactly how to change that.
I’m hosting a live event called Holiday Boundaries Without Guilt — a powerful session designed to help you:
✨ Stay regulated in the chaos
✨ Speak up without spiraling
✨ Set boundaries without overexplaining
✨ Let go of traditions that drain you
✨ Actually enjoy the holidays on your terms
If you want this season to feel different — calmer, clearer, lighter — this is where it starts.
👉 Join me live. You’ll walk away with tools that will change the entire tone of your holiday. https://ghl.zoerapoportconsulting.com/holiday-boundaries-live
You deserve a holiday that doesn’t require recovery.
With strength and transformation,
Dr. Zoe Psychologist & Women’s Empowerment Coach