Joy at Christmas, Despite Everything. With 12 Journaling Reflections

12 Useful Therapeutic Journaling Questions or Reflections for a Peaceful Christmas

I’m Kate, a psychotherapist writing about mental health and self-discovery, for you to flourish in a life you love. When we cultivate self-compassion, resilience and understanding, we also create a more harmonious world. Upgrade here for transformative journaling prompts, empowering tools, workbooks, guided meditations, and if you would like to support my work. Thanks for being here!

Visit the index ‘library’ to find all past posts you’ve missed. Why not catch up over Christmas?

Hi friends

This post is here for anyone who needs it, an arm at your back over this time of heightened emotion.

I also want to wish you a very Happy, Peaceful Christmas, and a massive thank you for supporting me and my newsletter this year. You are my Christmas gift. Read my last post here if you missed it:

Embracing an Authentic Christmess

In the coming weeks, I’ll share more regular therapeutic journaling or reflective questioning sessions/exercises for my paid members, to support your self-discovery journey. Is 2025 going to be your year to bloom?

1. Today: Reflective Journaling for Christmas, in case Christmas is difficult for you, or you just need perspective.

2. Twixstmas: End of Year Reflective Journaling, to clear your psyche, to process and acknowledge what happened and didn’t, let go of what you don’t need, and hold tight to what you do in 2025.

3. New Year’s Eve: New Year Discovery Journaling to explore the possibilities ahead, and shape your intentions for 2025, therapeutically, emotionally, authentically, gently. If you like the idea of a New Year’s ritual this is a lovely way to look into 2025 with courage and kindness.

I am making these journalling sessions a weekly regular in 2025 for paid members, since many of you said you find them useful, on various topics that often come up in therapy. What would you like to explore here? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to my list. This is an opportunity for self-directed personal ‘therapy’, with questions a therapist may ask to dive deeper, and experiments to create shifts into becoming more… you. You’ll be able to share and chat about whatever comes up with me and others in the comments.

If you’re looking for some festive fun, you can read my middle grade children’s novel The Wish That Saved Christmas. It is an uplifting festive tale of hope and friendship full of adventure and Christmas sparkle! Perfect for your children and your inner children!

Explore The Library at Letters From Therapy

Christmas is often a fraught time for many of us, including myself. Issues with family, health, relationships, money, stress can all amplify at Christmas. We don’t have to push away our difficult things. Instead, we can celebrate whilst incorporating these realities into our lives with compassion and kindness. There is no perfect day, just our day.

We don’t need to make it harder for ourselves by imposing unrealistic or idealistic expectations on ourselves and others. After all, it’s just a day. We can make the most of it, look for joy, and enjoy the celebration, despite any painful things happening, or that have happened in our lives. If you want to be grumpy in the corner, do it.

The pressure to try and change ourselves is so high at Christmas, but I invite you to be authentic and honest with yourself today (without harming others).

Let’s honour our strangely shaped lives, our wide ranging emotions, our pain and difficulty, whilst seeking joy, support, compassion and hope. Maybe we’ll find some fun along the way.

I love the nativity story. A young, unmarried, refugee couple show up with nowhere to go and everyone turns them away. A vulnerable woman gives birth in a gross, lonely stable to an even more vulnerable baby.

For me, Christmas is about humanity, humility, and compassion, including yourself.

Our most vulnerable selves are invited.

And we must respect that others vulnerable selves are present too. the full spectrum of our lives are often distilled into one day.

If you’ve lost someone, you may like to read my series on grief that starts here:

Life After Loss: How, What and Who Do We Grieve For?

We can shift our attention to joy through the day. Here are my favourite random joyful moments from last year.

My Joyful Christmas Moments

• Although I like elegant wrapping: natural paper, posh ribbons and sprigs, nothing beats the joy of a badly wrapped present in last year’s flattened out paper wrapped by a five-year-old with sticky hands.

• Chatting over the washing up.

• My niece suddenly snuggling into my lap with a book, when I wasn’t sure she remembered me.

• Conversations about which is the best kind of chocolate.

• Ten people unloading the dishwasher at the same time.

• My teen wearing something I chose.

• Finding my dogs poo under the dining table before anyone else did (Shhh).

• Talking about why the Strictly Christmas Special is bad again, and watching it anyway.

• Being called ‘Kate the Great’.

• Nibbling burned stuffing balls by the sink hours after the meal.

What weird little Christmas joyful moments will you be savouring this year? Let us know in the comments.

Therapeutic Journaling/Reflective Questioning for Christmas

Let’s put emotional well-being first today. Therapeutic journaling, or reflective questioning, is a powerful way to process your thoughts, manage stress, and connect with what brings you peace and joy. These 12 questions will help you navigate this time with more mindfulness, and connect with what brings you peace, joy, and compassion. Pick which feels right for you.

You’ll find these questions clicking here, in the Members Toolbox.

Not a paid member yet? Why not gift yourself clarity, self-awareness, and personal growth with therapeutic self-discovery work for today and the whole of 2025. Upgrade here and join my community of like-minded people creating a more harmonious world, starting from within.

Wishing you a happy and peaceful Christmas, thank you for being here. Give me the gift of a like, comment or share/restack and I’ll be so grateful, it really supports me.

What moments of joy can you find or create over Christmas, despite everything?

With love,

Kate

Embracing an Authentic Christmess