When the Holidays Feel Heavy: How the Neurosomatic Disentangling Method™ Helps You Reduce Allostatic Load and Live More Authentically

The holidays are often painted as a season of joy, connection, generosity, and celebration. But for many people, especially those who have experienced trauma, high-pressure or dysfunctional families, demanding professions, or cycles of obligation,

this time of year can stir something very complex within you.

You may feel it in your body before you can name it: tension in your chest, pressure behind your eyes, a knot in your gut, irritability, exhaustion, or a sense of being “pulled” between what you want and what you feel obligated to do.  These patterns are not character flaws. They are neurosomatic responses—your brain and body reacting to years of conditioning, emotional memory, and survival wiring.

At NeuroTransformational Group, we believe healing and growth begin by understanding these internal reactions, not judging them. That’s why we’re excited to introduce our new therapeutic framework:

The Neurosomatic Disentangling Method™: A Pathway Back to Yourself

This methodology uniquely integrates:

• Applied Neuroscience

• Somatic Awareness & Regulation

• Trauma-Informed Practices

• Attachment Science & Conditioning Awareness

• Allostasis & Adaptive Load Reduction

• Mindful Identity Integration (Authentic Self Work)

  
  

The Neurosomatic Disentangling Method™ helps you:

1. Notice What You Carry (Allostatic Load Awareness)

Allostatic load is the cumulative burden of stress on the brain and body. Holidays intensify this burden through:

• Family expectations

• Social pressure

• Emotional triggers

• Financial strain

• Caretaking roles

• Old wounds resurfacing

• People-pleasing and perfectionism scripts

• Internal conflict between “should” and “want”

Naming your load is the first step in reducing it.

2. Disentangle Conditioning from Authentic Choice

Much of holiday stress is rooted in conditioning:

• “Show up even when you’re exhausted.”

• “Don’t disappoint anyone.”

• “Keep the peace.”

• “You’re responsible for everyone’s feelings.”

• “If you set boundaries, you’re selfish.”

The method teaches you to separate learned roles from your true internal needs by exploring:

• Where did this belief originate?

• Does it align with my current values?

• What does my body say when I imagine following vs. letting go of this script?

• What would compassion—not obligation—guide me toward?

This is the heart of disentangling.

3. Regulate the Nervous System (Neurosomatic Coping)

Holiday stress hits the autonomic nervous system fast. Using targeted neurosomatic practices, clients learn to:

• Ground out of fight/flight/fawn

• Use interoception to listen to the body

• Restore rhythmic breathing

• Release emotional compression

• Toggle from survival mode to presence

• Shift state safely and consistently

• Recover energy more efficiently

This is where you begin reducing the allostatic load—not by doing more, but by realigning your internal system.

4. Integrate Honesty, Compassion, and Authenticity

The method empowers you to choose:

• Honest communication rather than silent resentment

• Compassion instead of compliance

• Presence over performance

• Healthy boundaries rather than self-abandonment

• Traditions that support you—not drain you

• Relationships based on truth, not old roles

• Connection that feels safe, not forced

Authentic living is not rebellion. It is alignment.

Navigating the Holidays With Nervous System Awareness

This season, give yourself permission to:

✔ Pause before committing

Check your breath, heart rate, shoulders, and stomach. What is the body telling you?

✔ Name your internal state

“I am overwhelmed.”“I am pressured.” “I’m excited but tired.”“I want connection, but I need space.”

✔ Shift from obligation to intention

Ask: “What choice would reduce my allostatic load and support a regulated state?”

✔ Stay rooted in your authentic self

You are allowed to be honest without harming others. You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to choose differently from your family of origin.

✔ Prioritize practices that restore your system

• Grounding

• Breath retraining

• Sensory regulation

• Movement & bilateral stimulation

• Emotional labeling

• Vagal toning

• Healthy boundaries

• Self-compassion rituals

Why This Matters

When you reduce allostatic load and disentangle from old conditioning, you reclaim something profound:

Your power to be present in your own life. Your ability to experience joy—not perform it. Your capacity to navigate relationships without losing yourself. Your freedom to show up authentically, compassionately, and fully integrated.

A Different Kind of Holiday Season Is Possible

Not one that demands perfection. Not one built on resentment or overextension. But one anchored in clarity, compassion, and self-honoring choices.

This is the promise of the Neurosomatic Disentangling Method™—a pathway out of survival mode and back into your authentic self.