When Time Loses Shape: Holiday Anxiety and the Struggle to Rest

Send us Fan MailWe often look forward to time off — especially during the holidays — expecting rest and relief. But for many people, unstructured time doesn’t feel restorative at all. It feels disorienting. In this episode, Dr. Theresa Haskins explores why holiday downtime can trigger anxiety, low mood, and a sense of drift, particularly for neurodivergent individuals and those with executive functioning differences. Drawing on behavioral psychology, executive function research, and lived experience, she explains how the sudden loss of routine disrupts nervous system regulation — and why this reaction is not a personal failure. If time feels heavier or harder to hold during the holidays, this episode offers language, validation, and a more compassionate way to understand what’s happening.