Many people love the holiday season and look forward to its boisterous excesses. Others dread the holidays and simply do what they can to endure them until everything gets back to “normal”. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, loving some aspects and dreading others, while trying to avoid the effects of sensory overload and the stress of trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations that we often place on ourselves and others.
Both adults and children need a break from work and school routines every once and a while to refresh and reset. At the same time, children tend to do better with structure and predictability, and those youngsters who are neurodiverse or struggle with sensory processing or mental health issues are especially vulnerable to dysregulation when routines are disrupted.
Educators and parents can reduce the chances of severe behavioral disruptions in the days before and during the holidays and can optimize a “back to business” transition in January by helping children anticipate and prepare for holiday overload and changes in routine.
What is Sensory Overload?
Sensory overload can happen to anyone, even those who are neurotypical or do not have diagnosable mental health conditions. Our brains function like highly complex computers that receive and process information from the environment. Sensory overload occurs when the environment is presenting more input to your five senses than your brain can sort through and process at once.
The holiday season is a perfect storm for sensory overload. Colorful flashing lights and oversized decorations are everywhere. Multiple animated conversations, loud laughter, and bouncy music are present at most gatherings, not to mention small children running around and/or shrieking with delight as they play with new toys. Food tables are overloaded with tasty treats while cooking aromas, perfume, and scented candles fill the air. Shoppers and partygoers are jostled and relatives that you haven’t seen in five years may be overeager to hug and kiss to express their happiness to see you.
Some common symptoms of sensory overload are:
- Extreme irritability
- Difficulty focusing because of competing sensory input
- Restlessness and discomfort
- Heightened stress or fear about one’s surroundings
- Feeling over-excited or “wound up”
- Higher than usual sensitivity to fabrics and textures, e.g. tags on clothing
- Higher than usual desire to “escape” or shield oneself from sights and sounds
Some common signs of sensory overload in children are:
- Heightened behavior such as running, jumping off furniture, spinning, excessive talking, etc.
- Heightened sensitivity to noises
- Withdrawal from usual activities and/or refusal to attend family functions
- More frequent meltdowns, tantrums, or uncontrollable crying
- Aggressive behavior
Who is Vulnerable to Sensory Overload?
The short answer is “Everyone!”, but some individuals are particularly at risk. When in a state of overload an individual’s usual coping mechanisms are heavily taxed, and it becomes easier to fall out of balance both physically and emotionally. Both pre-existing physical conditions and mental health problems such as anxiety, PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, and substance use disorders can be exacerbated when environmental stressors overwhelm coping capacity. Neurodiverse individuals, including those on the autism spectrum, those with ADHD, and those with sensory processing disorders, are especially vulnerable.
Some children have physical challenges that make it difficult to navigate the holiday season. For example, those with childhood diabetes may find it particularly challenging to be around tables overflowing with food and sugary holiday treats. Those recovering from a concussion may be particularly sensitive to noise and lights. Children with hearing problems or who have speech/language deficits may find it difficult to be in noisy environments and around large groups of people, especially people who may not be aware of or sensitive to their challenges. Those with medical conditions and/or are undergoing medical treatments that cause fatigue may have trouble enduring long celebrations or activities.
Anxious children, especially those with social anxiety, might dread gatherings of family and friends, or being in a situation where they feel they cannot easily escape (e.g., a crowded movie theater, a large party). Children recovering from PTSD may startle easily and resist the hugs and kisses of well-meaning relatives and partygoers. Those who are prone to depression or who have experienced significant losses may find that the apparent cheeriness of others deepens their own sadness. The delicate balance of sleep, medication management, eating patterns, and social interactions that those with bipolar disorder must manage can be easily disrupted over the holidays. OCD sufferers may find the chaos and “messiness” of holiday scenarios intolerable and might be overly attached to the idea of achieving “perfection” in holiday ritual. Individuals with problematic eating patterns or full-blown eating disorders might find it hard to cope with holiday dinners and with efforts to appear in their “holiday finest” given physical appearance and body image concerns. Those who turn to drugs or alcohol to relax or to make social situations easier to tolerate might increase substance use to manage the stress of holiday overload.
How to Help Others (and Yourself!) with Sensory Overload
There are numerous ways that adults can help children prepare for and manage holiday stress and sensory overload. First and foremost, it is important to remind children that despite the ever-present messages about holiday cheer, the season is just as likely to trigger feelings of sadness, anger, grief, and anxiety. Some families are grieving a death, others are struggling financially and/or trying to stay safe in impoverished neighborhoods, and some are coping with the stress of divorce or separation. Some families are estranged while for others family gatherings are associated with disappointment, interpersonal conflict, excessive alcohol use, or other pressures. It is important to help children identify their full range of emotions and to validate mixed feelings and perceptions.
Parents and educators can encourage children and teens to discuss aspects of the holiday season that are stressful for them as well as their best memories of holidays past. These discussions can form the basis of a coping plan that includes ways to reduce sensory overload while at the same time creating a small “wish-list” of activities that a family might enjoy and find most meaningful. This list can provide a blueprint for families to follow rather than allowing themselves to be influenced by what social media, TV commercials, peers, etc. promote as the “perfect” holiday.
The following are some ways to reduce sensory overload:
- Consider planning shorter visits to the homes of friends and family and identify a quiet “re-regulation” spot to retreat to in the home where a celebration is occurring. Children can bring noise-cancelling headphones to listen to music or to block out over-stimulating noise.
- Give your family permission to say “no” to some invitations.
- Maintain regular sleep and eating patterns on those days when a celebration or outing is not planned.
- Resist the urge to provide unlimited screen time while children are on a break from school – maintain limits on screen time as well as rules about not using screens too close to bedtime.
- Consider cutting down on the number of gifts and/or spread gift giving out over several days.
- Review breathing exercises and other mindfulness practices. Help children create “self-soothing” kits that ideally address all 5 senses: a kit might include something soft like a mini stuffed animal or a piece of velvet, something that smells good (e.g., hand lotion), a tasty treat, a photo of a loved one or beloved pet, a favorite song played on headphones.
- Parents can help children and teens select their own food items to bring to gatherings if there is concern about being unable to eat unfamiliar foods, about overeating, or about other food-related issues.
- Let children plan for and choose what holiday clothes they will wear – a familiar and comfortable garment can help a child stay calm while a brand-new holiday outfit might raise anxiety.
- Review holiday week plans with children and preferably create a visual schedule for them to refer to.
- Prepare family members and friends ahead of time about a child’s sensitivities and about accommodations that might be needed.
- Prepare a “broken record” script to quiet those who question or criticize your child-rearing practices in the moment.
- Let go of the concept of perfection and stay flexible.
- Don’t take a break from exercise. Physical activity can burn off anxiety and wound-up energy and improve sleep.
- Children and families should consider seeking moments of respite and re-regulation by getting outside to be “awed” by the experience of nature.
Whatever challenges a family faces, parents and children should be encouraged to be themselves, honoring some traditions while creating their own holiday rituals. For some the perfect holiday break might be spent snuggling up on the couch with a family member, a friend, or a pet – or maybe even a good book! – rather than racing around to visit and take part in typical holiday activities.
32 Sure-fire Survival Tips to Reduce Sensory Overload During the Holidays
Sensory Overload: Symptoms, Causes, Related Conditions, and More
8 Tips For Avoiding Sensory Overload This Holiday Season
24 Ways to Make the Holidays Kid-Friendly – Child Mind Institute
