Beat the Blues: A Simple Guide to Navigating Holiday Emotions

A practical tool to find calm, clarity, and control during emotional triggers.

At Think American News, we believe emotional well-being is just as important as physical health—especially during a season that can stir up joy, nostalgia, pressure, and unexpected heaviness. Fitness expert Rosemary Bonner offers a simple, powerful guide to help you move through the holidays with calm, clarity, and compassion for yourself. These are tools you can use anywhere, anytime, to protect your peace and strengthen your resilience when emotions rise.

A simple, powerful guide to support your emotional and mental well‑being as you move through the holiday season.

1. Understand the Emotional Shift

A simple, powerful guide to support your emotional and mental well-being as you move through the holiday season.

The holidays can bring joy, but they can also trigger sadness, loneliness, or overwhelm. These emotions are normal. This guide will help you pause, redirect, and regain your emotional balance.

2. The “Pause + Name + Reframe” Method

A simple 3-step exercise to break the emotional spiral.

Step 1: PAUSE
• Stop for 10 seconds.
• Take one deep inhale and one long exhale.

Step 2: NAME IT
Identify the emotion without judging it.
• “I feel sad.”
• “I feel overwhelmed.”
• “I feel lonely.”

Step 3: REFRAME IT
Shift the narrative.
• “This feeling is temporary.”
• “This moment does not define my day.”
• “I can choose a different response.”

Tangible practice: Write the emotion down. Then write one sentence that reframes it.

3. The “5-Minute Grounding Reset”

Use this anytime a wave of sadness or anxiety hits.

Sit or stand with both feet on the floor.
Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6.
Identify:
◦ 5 things you can see
◦ 4 things you can touch
◦ 3 things you can hear
◦ 2 things you can smell
◦ 1 thing you’re grateful for

This brings you out of emotional overwhelm and into the present moment.

4. “Trigger Map” Exercise

A proactive tool to reduce emotional surprise.

Step 1: Identify Common Holiday Triggers
Examples:
• Being around certain people
• Feeling alone while others gather
• Old memories
• Financial pressure
• Body image or food pressure

Step 2: Write Your Top 3 Triggers
Trigger 1:
Trigger 2:
Trigger 3:

Step 3: Create a “Go-To Response” for Each
• “If I feel triggered by ___, I will take a 60-second breath break.”
• “If I feel overwhelmed by ___, I will step into another room and regroup.”
• “If ___ comes up, I will shift to gratitude or movement.”

5. The “90-Second Rule” for Emotional Waves

Emotions last only 90 seconds unless we fuel them with thoughts.
When emotion rises:
• Breathe deeply for 90 seconds.
• Don’t add stories.
• Let the wave pass.

You’ll feel your body settle naturally.

6. Quick Emotional Redirect Tools

Use these in the moment when you need an immediate shift.

Option A: Move Your Body for 2 Minutes
• 20 squats
• 20 marching steps
• 10 deep breaths
• Quick stretch

Option B: “Gratitude Interrupt”
Name 3 things you’re grateful for right now.

Option C: Cold Splash Reset
Rub cold water on your wrists or splash your face.

Option D: Step Outside
Fresh air + light resets mood.

7. Fitness-Based Emotional Resets

Movement is one of the fastest ways to shift mood, release emotional tension, and reset your nervous system.

A. 3-Minute Movement Reset
• 20 bodyweight squats
• 20 marching steps in place
• 10 slow shoulder rolls
• 10 deep inhales with arms overhead

This boosts blood flow, breaks emotional stagnation, and resets your brain chemistry.

B. “Shake It Out” Technique (60 seconds)
Shake your arms, legs, shoulders, and hands lightly. This helps release built-up tension and interrupts negative emotional patterns.

C. Pressure Release Stretch
• Stand tall
• Reach arms overhead
• Slowly fold forward and let your arms hang
• Take 3 deep breaths

This stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping calm anxiety.

8. Breathing Techniques to Regain Calm

1. 4-6 Breathing
Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds. This reduces stress quickly and helps regulate emotions.

2. “Box Breathing” (Navy SEAL Method)
• Inhale 4 seconds
• Hold 4 seconds
• Exhale 4 seconds
• Hold 4 seconds
Repeat for 4 rounds.

3. Heart-Center Breath
Place your hand on your chest. Inhale deeply into your chest and imagine warmth spreading across your upper body. This helps with overwhelming sadness or emotional heaviness.

9. Holiday Boundaries That Protect Your Peace

Simple one-sentence boundaries you can use:
• “I’m going to step outside for a minute.”
• “I’m not discussing that today.”
• “I’m keeping this holiday simple this year.”
• “I love you, but I need a minute to reset.”

10. Your Daily “Beat the Blues” Check-In

Fill this out each morning:
• Emotion I woke up with:
• One thing I’m grateful for:
• One thing I’ll do today to support myself:
• One boundary I’ll honor:
• One positive statement for the day:

Examples:
• “I can handle whatever comes today.”
• “I bring peace into the room.”
• “I am in control of my thoughts.”

The holidays can be a time of celebration for many but a time of sadness for some. Use these tangible tools to help you navigate through those unexpected waves of emotion so that you can focus on what matters the most.

Rosemary and her team are available and equipped to help guide you through the peeks and valleys of life’s storms. Together we are better.

At Think American News, our goal is to offer practical tools that help you build a healthier, more grounded life—one rooted in personal resilience, kindness, and steady inner strength. Rosemary Bonner’s guide is a reminder that emotional well-being isn’t a luxury; it’s a skill we can all build. Whether you’re navigating joy, nostalgia, or unexpected heaviness this season, you’re not alone. We’re here to walk alongside you, one breath, one step, and one moment of calm at a time.

Ready to transform your life completely?

Follow Rosemary on Instagram for daily fitness tips and motivation!

At Think American, we’re all about progress over perfection—because the American spirit is rooted in resilience, routine, and rising to the challenge. Coach Rosemary’s message is clear: you don’t need fancy equipment or a complicated fitness plan. You just need to start. Lace up your shoes, step outside, and put one foot in front of the other. The road to better health, more energy, and mental clarity might just begin with a daily walk.

For more inspiration and actionable tips, follow @rosemarybonner_ on Instagram—and keep showing up for yourself. Because strong citizens build a strong America.