PTSD and Holidays

I found the attached link on the Sidran Foundation web site http://www.sidran.org. I located this web site doing research on the history of the false memory syndrome foundation. They seem to do a lot of good work dealing with people who have experienced traumas.

PTSD and Holidays

 It occurred to me that I hadn't addressed anything about the holidays and traumas. This is an important thing to discuss.


We all have specific triggers when it comes to our traumas and knowing them is important. The holidays used to be a time of massive PTSD triggers for me. The further I get away from those bad holidays the less my PTSD has become. I always travel and visit family, especially my daughter and her family during the holidays. This year I decided to try to do this as stress free as possible. One of the things I have learned over the past couple of years is that I don't have to decorate for the holidays if I don't want to. One of my greatest stressors was decorating for the holiday, making homemade goodies, shopping, wrapping, packing and traveling. Then coming home and taking all of the holiday decorations down. So I have decorated minimally the past couple of years.

I am half-way done with wrapping presents. I have my list of last minute gifts I need. I have a plan when to purchase them. I don't make goodies until I am there with my grandsons because it is so much fun making goodies with them. I have also started fun traditions. I have purposely tried to make my grandsons holidays as happy and fun as possible. We make a ginger bread house or train whichever they want. This year I have gotten them nice picture albums. I am going to print off pictures for them to put in their albums. Then each consecutive holiday they will get more pictures to add each year. When I told my daughter of this she loved it. I also started a tradition of getting them ornaments for their other grandparents tree each year. I get one each for the boys and one each for their other grandparents. Last year they really liked it. We share the holiday together so the boys will be with their grandparents each Christmas. I get to cook Christmas dinner which my son is helping with this year. We already have our list of things we are making.

Planning has been a real easy way for me to reduce my PTSD triggers during the holiday. Planning fun things has also been very important to reduce stress. I would like everyone's holiday seasons to be as stress free. If you have any specific things you do to reduce your stress please share them. Blessings, Rosie