December comes with twinkle lights, peppermint everything, and the belief that we should all be glowing with joy like extras in a Hallmark movie. But sometimes the holidays feel more like an emotional obstacle course. And if you’re a person with a physical disability, the world expects you to smile sweetly through every inaccessible doorway and every exhausting gathering as if it were effortless.
My mental health strategies did not come from a textbook. They came from living life. I never used words like triggers or trauma. Maybe it’s my Gen X upbringing. I do not know. I will leave the philosophical debates to the people who love that kind of thing. What I do know is that the moments I have lived through are exactly what the current generation would call trauma and triggers.
So every trick in my magic bag comes from experience, not theory. When something serious is happening and I am right in the middle of it, my mind automatically looks for a way to keep me steady. It took me a long time to realize I could recreate that shift on purpose, almost like calling it back when I needed it. Once I figured that out, everything changed.
So what is this not so scientific mental health strategy?
It has nothing to do with where I am. It has everything to do with where my mind decides to travel. When a vague, hard to name emotion shows up, I do not rush to label it or turn it into something theatrical. That has never been my style. I know plenty of people today use labels to justify medication or to sidestep anything uncomfortable, but that is not my approach. Instead, I return to something I have been doing for decades.
I pick a song that I know will transport me to the memory or emotion I want to conjure up. Then I travel. Not physically. I wish. But mentally, spiritually, memory by memory. I relive the moments that made my senses come alive. Something a special person once did for me. Something I did for someone I cared about. A sweet, peaceful memory with my family. It’s the smallest flashes of life that hold the biggest comfort, like a warm cup of cocoa on a cold morning. Because sometimes the best healing comes from remembering who you were in the moments that made you feel whole.
This also helps when I need a specific emotion for my novel, my short story, or any piece of writing. I reach back into the chapters of my own life and borrow from them. I am sure science has a theory for why this works, but I am not here to teach a class. I am here to share what helps me, in case it helps you too.
Why does this matter?
Because our memories are powerful. They hold proof that joy existed. They remind us that peace is possible. They show us we have survived every version of ourselves. And during December, when the world speeds up and our minds start juggling a thousand things at once, revisiting those memories can help us come back to ourselves.
I still use this technique all the time. Sometimes I do it on the way to work. Sometimes I do it before bed. Sometimes it happens in the middle of the day when I need a moment to reset. It has carried me through more situations than I can count, and it continues to guide me in ways I never expected.
If you try it, tell me how it goes
I know I am not a scientist. I am a woman with OI who has lived through every emotional season there is. I am a teacher, a writer, a Latina Diva on Wheels, and someone who has seen how complicated the holidays can be.
So if you try this technique, I hope it brings you a little peace. A little comfort. A little softness in a world that demands too much from us.
And if it works, pass it on. Let the ripple grow.
Because if my personal little mental vacation trick can help someone else breathe easier in December, that is the real holiday magic.
With love, sass, and a playlist that always saves me
Nathasha 🌟
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