15 Mental Health Tips for the Holidays - Childhood Trauma

The holiday season can be one of the most triggering times of the year for childhood trauma survivors. In this video, Patrick Teahan, MSW offers 15 practical mental health tips specifically designed for people who grew up in toxic, narcissistic, or abusive family systems and are bracing themselves for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other family-centered gatherings.

Patrick addresses the unique pressures that holidays place on adult children of dysfunctional families: the expectation to show up, perform normalcy, and tolerate behavior that would be unacceptable in any other context. He covers topics ranging from boundary-setting with difficult relatives to managing the internal experience of being triggered by familiar family dynamics that feel as fresh and painful as they did in childhood.

The tips span both practical strategies and deeper inner child work. Patrick discusses how to prepare emotionally before family events, how to recognize when your inner child is running the show during a holiday gathering, and how to create exit strategies that honor your healing without blowing up relationships you may still want to maintain. He also addresses the grief that comes with choosing not to attend family events and the guilt that toxic family systems install around prioritizing your own wellbeing.

Whether you are planning to attend a family holiday, dreading the phone call from a parent you have distanced yourself from, or spending the holidays alone for the first time after going no contact, this video provides compassionate and grounded guidance. Patrick reminds viewers that the holidays do not have to be a performance of family harmony, and that taking care of yourself during this season is not selfish — it is a necessary act of self-preservation for anyone recovering from childhood trauma.