Inside the 12 Days: Glimpses of the Restorative Practices

Dec 11

The holidays can be magical and emotionally complex at the same time. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer McManus shares the core themes behind this year’s 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief: Curated Restorative Practices Collection. You’ll hear about the kinds of holiday stress the collection is designed to support, such as extra demands on your time, difficult family dynamics, mental load, and grief. You’ll also get a sneak listen into some of the restorative practices you’ll receive.

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Sign up for the 2025 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief

This year we are bringing you 12 days of curated restorative practices for holiday stress relief. Sign up now so you can collect the practices that speak to you once they start dropping on December 12th.

Inside the 12 Days: Glimpses of the Restorative Practices

Hello and welcome! You’re listening to the PsycHope Self-Help Podcast: A space for women where psychology illuminates paths to healing, hope, and personal growth. I’m Dr. Jennifer McManus, a clinical psychologist and I’ll be your host. Each episode, we’ll explore a different way to use psychology to enhance emotional wellness. Hope you enjoy the show!

Keep scrolling for the full transcript in case you want to dive into the details!

Welcome back everyone! It’s episode 54.

Today we’re returning to something especially near and dear to my heart here at PsycHope—our annual 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief. This episode is landing on the eve of the event, so it feels a bit like a quiet little opening ceremony for what’s to come.

This tradition grew out of what I see so often this time of year—caring, high-capacity women who are doing all the things and quietly carrying far more than most people realize. Women who feel like they “should” be joyful and full of holiday magic, while underneath they’re overwhelmed, maybe grieving, feeling lonely, or just plain exhausted.

The 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief is here to meet those kinds of struggles. To acknowledge that the holidays can absolutely be beautiful, but also heavy at times. The 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief is also here to offer gentle support so you don’t have to move through this season suffering in silence or pretending you’re fine if you’re not.

12 Days tradition at PsycHope

As an annual tradition here at PsycHope, the 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief event has taken a few different forms over the years.

It all started back in 2021 with 12 days of holiday stress relief tips on social media. These were short, simple ideas shared in reels and TikToks to help people get even a small bit of support during what can be a very emotionally charged season.

In 2022, right after I launched the PsycHope Self Help Podcast, the 12 days shifted into 12 solo podcast episodes. Each episode shined a light on a different aspect of holiday stress, and we explored psychology-informed ways to navigate what can come up.

Then in 2023 and 2024, the PsycHope Self Help Podcast sponsored the 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief Audio Summits. Those events brought together compassionate, professional women with backgrounds in psychology, counseling, health, wellness, and spirituality to share their wisdom in interview format. A lot of you have shared that those conversations helped you feel less alone in what you carry this time of year.

This year, we’re taking a different approach. Instead of a summit, we’re getting right to the helpful practices themselves. I’m calling it the Curated Restorative Practices Collection.

Think of it as 12 days of gentle, meaningful support that you can use, at your own pace, in your own way. Today’s episode is all about exploring the core themes you can expect within this collection.

When and how to join

I want to share a few logistics with you before we talk about the themes though.

The 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief: Curated Restorative Practices Collection will run from December 12th through December 23rd.

You can sign up at psychope.com/12days.

Once you’re registered, you’ll receive an email each day with that day’s restorative practice and a brief note from me to help you integrate it into your daily life.

There is no-cost to join this community event. You can sign up at any time during the 12 days. And, since the timing of holiday celebrations vary, you can even sign up into early January to access the 12 Days of stress relief goodness. Head to psychope.com/12days to register, or just click the link in the show notes.

Types of holiday stress we are addressing

Now that you know how to join us, let’s talk about the types of stress these practices are designed to address. I’ll be talking about the themes in broad strokes, with more details revealed as the days unfold. The goal is to give you a glimpse of what to expect without spoiling anything.

First, there is the constant juggling of time and energy. During the holidays, regular life does not simply pause. Work still needs your attention, your inbox does not magically empty, and then you add shopping, planning, traveling, hosting, or trying to show up for other people’s events. So, the collection includes practices that help you reset your nervous system, protect your energy, and come back to what is actually realistic for you this season.

Next, there’s that pressure to make things perfect. The pressure to create the “right” holiday experience. The pressure to feel a certain way. The pressure to keep everyone else happy. Some of the practices are designed to gently challenge those expectations and help you reconnect with values-based, compassionate choices, instead of perfection.

We’re also naming and tending to grief. The holidays can intensify the ache of missing someone you love. That might be a person or a deeply loved pet. There is space in this collection for your grief, including practices that help you honor those bonds while also caring for your own heart.

Another theme is tricky or difficult family dynamics. For some people, the holidays mean walking into rooms where unspoken tension, past conflict, or emotional history seems to take up space before anyone even speaks. For others, there’s strain around how much to give, how much to host, or what you’re “supposed” to tolerate. So please know, there are practices in this collection to help you navigate these types of complexities.

We’re also thinking at mental load and invisible work. The behind-the-scenes work of making the holiday magic happen often falls disproportionately on women. Lists, logistics, tracking gifts, remembering traditions, managing emotions in the room. Some of this year’s practices offer structure and support that can ease that load and help you step out of that “I have to do it all” mindset.

There are also practices that speak to self-worth, body image, and sexuality-related stress, all of which the holiday season has a way of amplifying. From social comparison to comments about bodies to navigating your own sexual values in a culture that sends mixed messages, these practices help you stay anchored in what is right for you.

And finally, we’re attending to loneliness and emotional exhaustion. The holidays can be isolating even in a crowd, especially if you feel misunderstood, left out, or like you are the one quietly holding it together for everyone else. Several practices in this collection are there to help you feel more connected to yourself and to sources of meaning and comfort, even when circumstances are hard.

So, these gifts are not pretending the holidays are easy. They are designed to meet you inside the reality of what this season can frequently feel like.

Sneak peek at the restorative practice’s themes

Alright. Now I want to give you a feel for the types of restorative practices you can expect, without giving away what you’ll get to unwrap each day.

This is a curated collection, which means I carefully selected each practice with this question in mind:

“Would this genuinely help someone on a healing journey feel a little more supported, a little more grounded, or a little more like herself during the holiday season?”

Some of the practices are created by me, and some are contributed by colleagues I know and trust. Just like the audio summits PsycHope hosted the past 2 years, you can expect restorative practices from professional women with backgrounds in psychology, counseling, health, wellness, and spirituality. The creators of these restorative practices share a similar heart for compassion and evidence-informed care, and their work reflects a blend of science-backed strategies and ancient spiritual wisdom.

So here is your sneak listen on some of the restorative practices you’ll get to unwrap over the 12 days.

You will find journal-based practices that help you make sense of what you are feeling, clarify what matters to you this season, and create small pockets of reflection amid all the holiday expectations. Some are more somatic and body-focused, some are more cognitive, and some blend both.

There are also somatic and embodiment practices that invite you back into your body in gentle ways. These support you in noticing how stress is showing up physically and give you language and tools to work with your body as an ally.

You’ll also see breathwork and self-soothing practices that you can use in real time. These are things you can do before a gathering, after a hard conversation, or on a day that feels heavier than you anticipated.

There are values-based practices that help you design a holiday season that aligns with who you truly are and what you hold dear, rather than what everyone else is doing. These are especially helpful if you notice a lot of “shoulds” showing up for you during the month of December.

You’ll also find boundary and communication support, including language you can adapt if you struggle to say no, to ask for what you need, or to honor your limits during the holidays.

There are grief-support practices, too, including structured prompts and gentle activities to help you hold memories and hold emotions that may be resurfacing right now.

You will also have access to affirmation and mindset supports. These are not about ignoring your pain or slapping on a forced positive attitude. They’re about speaking to yourself in a way that is kind, grounded, and steady.

And last but not least, there are practices that help you create calm environments and small rituals. These are for you if you are craving little pockets of sanctuary in your home or with your kids, even when the rest of life does not slow down.

I’m going to let the details stay a surprise, because part of the 12 days experience is discovering each restorative practice as you go, like a gift you get to unwrap. My hope is that this overview simply gives you a sense of the range and the heart behind the collection.

The holidays can be heavy and we’re here to help

Now, if you’re listening to this and thinking, “Honestly, I am not feeling festive at all right now,” you are not alone.

The holidays can bring up joy and nostalgia. They can also bring up exhaustion, resentment, anxiety, and grief.

The goal of the 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief is not to push you into a certain mood. It’s to offer real support inside the mood you’re already feeling, and to give you practical ways to care for your nervous system, your tender heart, and your hardworking mind during a season that can be both magical and emotionally complex.

You’re allowed to opt out of the holiday hustle.
You’re allowed to prioritize your peace.
You’re allowed to create space for what lights you up, even if it looks different from what other people are doing.

My hope is that this curated restorative practices collection gives you 12 small but meaningful ways to honor peace-protecting choices like these.

How to sign up

If you would like to join us for the annual 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief and get access to this year’s Curated Restorative Practices Collection, you can sign up at psychope.com/12days.

As always, you can just click the link in the show notes as well.

Once you’re registered, you will start receiving your daily restorative practices from December 12th through December 23rd. And if you sign up after we begin, you will still be able to access all the days, so no worries, you won’t miss a thing.

I’m really looking forward to sharing this year’s 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief tradition with you. Here’s to walking through this season together with a little more intention and a lot more compassion.

Much peace until next time.

The information shared on the PsycHope Self-Help podcast is done so with the understanding that it does not constitute professional help nor is it a substitute for professional help. If you think you might benefit from more than self-help, there are resources listed in the show notes.

Show Notes

Episode 54, originally published on December 11th, 2025.

Sign up for the 2025 12 Days of Holiday Stress Relief

Disclaimer

The information shared on the PsycHope Self-Help podcast does not constitute professional help nor is it a substitute for professional help. If you think you might benefit from more than self-help, here are some helpful resources:

Find a therapist:

Psychology Today, directory for locating a psychotherapist. More details here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/

Mental health crisis resources:

Crisis text line: text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor for any emotional crisis