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The holiday season can feel impossibly heavy when you’re grieving. Whether this is your first December without your person - or the fifth, or the tenth - this time of year can bring emotional landmines, painful contrasts, and overwhelm that others don’t always see.

In episode 29a, Johanna walks beside you to explore:
🌿 Why holiday “firsts” (and seconds… and thirds…) hit so hard
🌿 The emotional, sensory, and social triggers unique to this season
🌿 Anticipatory grief and why the lead-up is sometimes worse than the day itself
🌿 How grief affects your brain and nervous system (hello, “87 browser tabs” energy)
🌿 Boundaries, expectations, and how to stop performing the “holiday mask”
🌿 Grounding tools, sensory resets, and strategies to honour your needs
🌿 A full permission slip to do the holidays your way — no guilt attached

This episode is part of a four-part holiday grief support series, with two mini-episodes releasing this week and more in-depth conversations coming over the next two Mondays.

✨ Free grief resources:
• Insights for Navigating Grief
• Essential Grief Toolkit
Download at Johanna’s Resilience Toolboxes

💛 Your support helps keep the podcast going:
 https://buymeacoffee.com/transformativejourneys

Podcast music is ‘Back Roads’ by Will Harrison from Epidemic Sound.

🛑 Disclaimer: Johanna is not a therapist — just a human with a mic and lived experience. This podcast is informational only and not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.