Holiday Healing: Transforming Anxiety and Disappointment into Peace and Self-Worth

The holidays can be beautiful — and heavy. They often spotlight our hopes, losses, and the ways we’ve learned to protect ourselves from disappointment.

During a recent group energy healing session, I asked participants, “What’s blocking you from aligning with the intention you’ve set for yourself?”

One client shared, “I realize I’m hooked on potential wins, but I’m afraid to act. What if I fail?” She noticed the tension in her shoulders tensed as she spoke. The body always reveals the truth. 

(This is something I see often in energy healing work — how early experiences of disappointment or shame can pull us out of our bodies as a way to cope. I share a deeper example of this process, and what it looks like to come home to yourself again, in A Real Story of Emotional Healing and Coming Home to Your Body.)

She continued, “I feel like hope has gotten tied to shame. I remember waiting excitedly as a child for my dad to take me roller skating. Hours passed, and, unsurprisingly, he didn’t show. Still, I was heartbroken. I felt ashamed, naive for ever having hoped.”

During the holidays, many of us feel this same tension: hope mixed with fear, excitement shadowed by past disappointments. We guard our hearts, brace for letdowns, and sometimes even suppress joy to avoid vulnerability.

Recognizing How Shame and Disappointment Live in the Body

This internalized shame can show up as hesitation, second-guessing, fear of failure, or difficulty opening to joy — especially during emotionally charged times like the holidays. It can be heavy, immobilizing, and isolating.

Transforming Fear and Shame into Self-Worth and Emotional Clarity

Together, we guided her through a process that allowed her to:

• Feel the shame in her body, noticing tension and areas she’d been protecting
  

• Honor it without judgment
  

• Move through the feeling with presence and compassion, instead of forcing it away
  

• Listen to what the emotion was revealing about her needs, desires, and inner truth
  

• Transform the energy into power, and alignment with her intention
  

She didn’t try to “think” her way out of the uncomfortable feeling. She didn’t repress, fix, or numb herself. Instead, she faced the emotion fully, allowing it to move through her. She emerged with shame transformed into self-worth, fear into freedom, and pain into peace.

Reconnecting with Your Inner Light Amid Holiday Challenges

During the holidays, remember that you can honor hope even when it’s fragile. By honoring and listening to your emotions you reclaim the wisdom and light inside you. No matter what’s going on around you, your heart can remain open. Disappointment can teach you, rather than hold you hostage.  

By the end of the session, participants felt grounded, aligned, and supported by the larger flow of life, connected to their intentions in a way that felt safe, empowered, and embodied.

If This Resonates, I'd Love to Hear from You

Reply in the comments below and share your thoughts, questions, or experiences.