How to Navigate Grief During the Holidays
The holidays are often wrapped in messages of joy, togetherness, and celebration. But when you’re grieving, this season can feel painfully different. Instead of warmth and connection, you may feel waves of loss, loneliness, guilt, or even pressure to “hold it together” for others.
If you’re experiencing this, you’re not doing anything wrong. Your grief doesn’t disappear just because the calendar says it’s time to celebrate. Grief during the holidays can feel heavier because the absence of your loved one is felt more deeply. With the right holiday grief support, it’s possible to move through this season with more gentleness, intention, and care. Therapy for grief can offer a steady, compassionate space to support you through this tender time.
Why the Holidays Can Amplify Grief
The holidays have a way of bringing the past right into the present. Traditions, familiar songs, favorite recipes, and family gatherings often carry deep emotional connections to the people we’ve lost.
You might find yourself:
Remembering past holidays “before” the loss
Feeling pressure to act cheerful when you don’t feel that way inside
Struggling with changed family dynamics or empty seats at the table
These experiences can make coping with loss during the holidays feel overwhelming and unpredictable. Grief often shows up in waves, and holiday imagery, smells, and sounds can intensify those waves. None of this means you’re doing it wrong — it means you loved deeply.
Healthy Ways to Honor and Remember Loved Ones
There is no “right way” to grieve, and there is no timeline for healing. What matters most is finding meaningful, gentle ways to stay connected to your loved one while caring for your own heart.
Here are a few therapeutic ways to honor their memory:
Create new traditions that feel softer and more sustainable this year
Light a candle in their honor during a quiet moment or family gathering
Write a letter to your loved one expressing what you wish you could say
Set aside reflective time, whether through journaling, prayer, or sitting in silence
Donate or volunteer in their memory with an organization they would have cared about
Attend a Blue Christmas Service at a local church that is focused on supporting those who grieve
These rituals aren’t about “fixing” the pain — they’re about allowing space for love and grief to coexist. This is a powerful form of holiday grief support.
How Therapy Can Support You Through the Season
You don’t have to carry this alone. Grief counseling offers a safe, steady place to say what feels unsayable and feel what feels too heavy to hold by yourself.
Therapy for grief can help you:
Process complex emotions without judgment
Learn grounding tools for intense waves of sadness or anxiety
Navigate family dynamics and holiday expectations
Find meaning and connection even in the midst of loss
For some, a therapy intensive can be especially supportive during the holidays. Intensives provide focused, extended time to gently work through grief, helping you feel more resourced, supported, and emotionally steady during a season that often feels overwhelming.
This isn’t about rushing your healing. It’s about giving your grief the space it deserves.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
If you’re struggling with coping with loss during the holidays, you deserve support that feels safe, compassionate, and centered on your needs.
I offer both grief counseling and therapy intensives designed to provide meaningful holiday grief support. I particularly specialize in supporting those who had an unexpected or traumatic loss. You don’t have to navigate this season by yourself.
Schedule a consultation today to explore how therapy for grief can support you through this holiday season with care, clarity, and compassion.
Michelle Spurgeon is a licensed therapist supporting clients in Dallas, Texas, and virtual EMDR therapy in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia. She specializes in relational trauma, anxiety, and divorce and uses evidence-based treatments like EMDR to help clients feel unstuck and steady again. Michelle provides EMDR Intensives for clients or therapists wanting extended session time to work towards relief. She is LCSW Supervisor in Texas helping LMSW professionals earn their clinical license. At Steady Healing, she is committed to providing compassionate, expert care both in-person in Dallas and online for clients across Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia.
