Holiday Stress Survival Guide with a Therapist

Surviving the Holidays: Setting Boundaries and Managing Stress

As the holidays draw near, the pressure to be the perfect host or the ideal guest can send anxiety levels through the roof. In this episode, hosts Jim Lang and psychotherapist Sim Chhabra tackle the very real stress of the festive season. Whether you are dealing with hyper-critical in-laws on an "away game" in Saskatoon, or feeling the heavy burden of hosting unhelpful guests in your own home, this discussion provides practical tools to keep your peace intact.

Sim breaks down actionable Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques, including cognitive reframing and grounding breathing exercises, to help you reclaim the joy of the holidays without burning out.

Key Discussion Points

• The "Away Game" Mentality: Why visiting family feels so exhausting and how to manage the "imposter syndrome" of measuring your success against relatives.
• The SANTA Method: A five-step grounding technique (See, Ask, Name, Take a breath, Act with conviction) to stop a holiday panic attack in its tracks.
• The "It Is What It Is" Breath: A simple, effective breathing exercise to center yourself when family dynamics get out of control.
• Hosting Anxiety: How to set boundaries when guests don't pitch in, and why you need a "post-game" debrief with your partner.
• Modern Guest Etiquette: Why people are turning to AI tools to learn basic hosting and gifting etiquette in a post-pandemic world.

Video Timestamps

• 0:04 – The rising tide of holiday stress and anxiety.
• 0:51 – Dealing with critical in-laws during a multi-day family visit.
• 2:26 – Why traveling for the holidays limits your self-care resources.
• 4:04 – How to use Cognitive Reframing to survive family dinners.
• 4:46 – Breakdown of the "SANTA" anxiety management technique.
• 9:46 – The burden of hosting: Dealing with unhelpful family and friends.
• 13:04 – Guest etiquette and the simple power of offering to help.
• 15:51 – Treating holiday gatherings like an "away game" with halftime check-ins.

Join the Conversation: Are you traveling to see family this year, or taking on the stress of hosting? Let us know your top survival tips in the comments below!

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