Brainspotting Therapy in Phoenix, AZ: Managing Family Triggers Before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is meant to be a time for connection and gratitude, but for so many of us, it can also stir up a quiet sense of dread. The thought of navigating family gatherings can bring feelings of stress, anxiety, and unresolved hurts to the surface. If you're already feeling the weight of the upcoming holiday season, please know you are not alone.If you find yourself dreading the emotional challenges that often accompany family get-togethers, please know that brainspotting therapy in Phoenix offers a gentle and powerful way to prepare. It can help you compassionately address the very root of these triggers. This post will guide you through actionable steps you can take to manage family-related stress and unresolved trauma before the holidays, so you can approach Thanksgiving with a sense of calm and confidence.
Why Family Triggers Feel More Intense During the Holidays
The holiday season has a way of magnifying family dynamics. It’s as if everything is placed under a microscope. The old wounds, the unspoken tensions, and the challenging patterns of communication. If you feel like your emotional triggers are more potent during this time, there are real reasons for that. It’s not just in your head. The sheer amount of time spent with family can be overwhelming. We return to childhood homes, sit at familiar tables, and can easily fall back into old roles and dynamics. The pressure to maintain harmony or meet unspoken expectations can be exhausting.
You might feel the need to be a perfect host, a cheerful guest, or the person who keeps the peace, all while your own feelings are bubbling just beneath the surface. Furthermore, our memories are deeply tied to these holiday experiences. A specific dish, a certain song, or even the tone of someone's voice can transport us back to a painful moment from the past. These triggers don’t have to define your holiday experience. Brainspotting therapy offers a path to process and release the heavy emotional weight tied to these moments, freeing you to create new, more positive memories.
How to Identify and Prepare for Your Family Triggers
Preparing for the emotional landscape of Thanksgiving begins with gentle self-reflection. Instead of being caught off guard by difficult feelings, you can take steps to understand and anticipate them. This isn't about bracing for impact; it's about empowering yourself with awareness.
Step 1: Reflect on Past Holidays
Take a quiet moment for yourself. Think back to previous Thanksgiving gatherings. What moments or interactions felt particularly challenging for you? There's no need to force yourself to relive anything painful; instead, gently allow yourself to notice what comes up. Perhaps ask yourself:
Who or what tends to make me feel anxious, small, or upset?
What topics of conversation leave me feeling drained or defensive?
Are there recurring patterns or dynamics I notice in my family?
Jotting these down in a journal can be a gentle way to externalize these thoughts, making them feel less overwhelming and more manageable. This is the first step in creating a map of your emotional triggers. As you observe these patterns without judgment, you're offering yourself a space for deeper understanding and self-compassion. This gentle process allows you to gain a clearer picture of what truly impacts you, preparing you to navigate future gatherings with a newfound sense of awareness and peace.
Step 2: Pinpoint Emotional and Physical Reactions
Our bodies hold on to our experiences. When you reflect on a difficult memory or anticipate a stressful interaction, pay close attention to what happens in your body. Do you notice a tightness in your chest? A churning in your stomach? A racing heart or a sense of dread that washes over you? These physical sensations are not random.
They are your nervous system's way of communicating that it feels unsafe or threatened. A skilled brainspotting therapist can help you connect these physical sensations to their emotional roots in a safe and contained way. Recognizing this connection is a powerful step toward healing, as it honors the wisdom your body holds.
Step 3: Set Clear Intentions for This Year
Once you have a clearer understanding of your triggers and your body's responses, you can begin to set intentions for this year's gathering. This is an act of profound self-care. It’s about deciding, ahead of time, how you want to feel and what you need to protect your emotional well-being. Your intentions could be simple, such as "I want to feel grounded and present" or "I will prioritize my own peace." From there, you can think about what boundaries might support those intentions. A boundary isn't a wall you build to shut others out; it's a line you draw to protect your own inner peace.
Using Brainspotting Therapy to Process Family-Related Stress
Knowing your triggers is one thing; processing the deep-seated emotions tied to them is another. This is where the gentle, focused work of brainspotting therapy in Phoenix can be truly transformative. It provides a safe, supportive space to work through these challenges before they have a chance to hijack your holiday. Instead of just talking about the issues, brainspotting helps you access and release the stored trauma and stress held in your subcortical brain and body. This allows you to process unresolved emotions tied to family dynamics, so you are not carrying their full weight into the holiday celebration. Clients often report feeling lighter and more emotionally clear after sessions, as if a long-held burden has been set down.
In therapy, you can work on:
Releasing feelings of resentment, anger, or sadness from past family interactions.
Building emotional resilience so you can handle difficult conversations without feeling derailed.
Practicing grounding techniques that you can use to stay present and centered during stressful moments.
This work helps you move from a place of reaction to one of response. You become less likely to be pulled into old dramas and more capable of showing up as the calm, centered adult you are. Instead of bracing for impact, you learn to navigate family dynamics with a sense of inner stability and grace. It’s about creating space for you to breathe, even when things feel tense around you.
Practical Tips for Managing Triggers During Thanksgiving
The work you do in therapy is foundational, and you can support it with practical strategies before, during, and after the holiday. By preparing yourself, you can navigate the day with more ease and resilience. It's about giving yourself the tools to stay grounded when old patterns resurface. Here are a few ways to care for your nervous system and protect your peace.
Tip 1: Create a Pre-Holiday Self-Care Plan
The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving can be busy. Be intentional about scheduling time for activities that help you feel grounded and resourced. This could be journaling, walking in nature, meditation, or spending time with supportive friends. Consider booking a brainspotting session the week before Thanksgiving to process any lingering anxiety and reinforce your sense of calm.
Tip 2: Set Boundaries Ahead of Time
Communicating your needs clearly and kindly is a powerful tool. If possible, set some boundaries before the event. This might look like letting a family member know a certain topic is off-limits or deciding in advance how long you will stay. For example, you could say, “I’d love to keep our conversation focused on catching up. Let’s avoid talking about politics this year.”
Tip 3: Use Grounding Techniques in the Moment
If you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed during a gathering, have a few grounding techniques ready. Excuse yourself to the restroom and run cool water over your wrists. Step outside for a few deep breaths of fresh air. You could also focus on a calming object in the room, noticing its color, texture, and shape. These simple actions can help bring your nervous system back to a state of balance.
Tip 4: Plan for Post-Holiday Decompression
Give yourself permission to rest and recharge after the event. The emotional energy it takes to navigate family gatherings is real. Plan for a quiet evening or a relaxing activity the next day. You might also consider scheduling a follow-up session with your brainspotting therapist to process any emotions that came up, ensuring they don’t linger.
Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Start Therapy
The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving are an ideal time to begin this work. Starting therapy now gives you the space and tools to build emotional clarity and resilience before you walk into the family gathering. You don’t have to wait until you are completely overwhelmed to seek support. Taking proactive, compassionate steps for yourself now can make all the difference in how you experience the holiday season.
This Thanksgiving, you have the opportunity to give yourself the gift of inner peace. By acknowledging your needs and addressing your family triggers with the help of brainspotting therapy in Phoenix, you can create a holiday experience that feels less about survival and more about genuine connection, peace, and even joy. If you're ready to take the first step, reach out today. You deserve to feel calm and confident this holiday season.
Is Brainspotting Therapy in Phoenix the Key to a Peaceful Thanksgiving?
If you’ve been bracing yourself for the holidays, anticipating the familiar stress and holding your breath until it’s over, please know you don’t have to go through it that way this year. Maybe it’s time to give yourself the gift of peace. At Through It All Counseling, brainspotting therapy in Phoenix offers a gentle path toward a calmer holiday season. A path that doesn’t require you to rehash every painful detail, but simply to notice, process, and release the tension you’ve been carrying.
Whether you’re navigating difficult family dynamics, old wounds, or a sense of dread you can’t quite name, I would be honored to support you. You don’t have to carry the weight of past holidays into this one. Healing isn't about being stronger; it’s about feeling safer in your own body and remembering you deserve to feel at ease. If you’re ready to approach Thanksgiving with more calm and confidence, I’m here to walk alongside you.
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This Thanksgiving, You Deserve to Feel at Peace.
More Therapy Services Offered at Through It All Counseling
Somatic healing isn’t one-size-fits-all, and your journey deserves support that honors exactly where you are—especially during a season as complex as the holidays. At Through It All Counseling, I offer integrative, creative, and evidence-based modalities to help you (or your child) access healing in the way that feels most natural.
Alongside Brainspotting, I offer Play Therapy, Expressive Arts, Bibliotherapy, and Creative Art Therapy for children and teens whose emotions come alive through story, art, or movement. For adults and families, I blend Polyvagal-informed care, Mindfulness-Based Interventions, and Family Systems Therapy, as well as practical strategies from CBT, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.
These approaches aren’t rigid pathways—they’re gentle, intentional invitations to reconnect with your body’s wisdom, soothe your nervous system, and help you feel safer within yourself—even when family dynamics feel challenging. Whatever story you bring this Thanksgiving, you don’t have to figure it out alone. I’m here to support your unique path, with compassion and deep respect for your lived experience.
About the Author
Cristina Yturralde, M.C., LPC, is a certified Brainspotting therapist, Brainspotting Consultant, and somatic therapist in Phoenix. With nearly two decades of clinical experience and a warm, grounded approach, Cristina deeply understands how family gatherings can bring up complex emotions, especially during the holidays. She offers compassionate, individualized support to help clients navigate family triggers and reclaim a sense of calm. Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal healing journey, Cristina integrates Brainspotting, Polyvagal-informed care, and Expressive Arts at her private practice, Through It All Counseling.
Her focus is always on creating a safe, attuned space where you can honor your experiences and move toward greater peace, no matter what this season brings. Cristina believes that healing doesn’t always start with words; it begins with feeling safe enough to let your guard down. If you are looking for support in navigating the holidays with a steady presence and an open heart, she is here to help you listen to your body’s wisdom and find a calmer path forward.
