Does Christmas never live up to the version you remember from childhood? Or does it bring up painful memories that keep you stuck in the past? Or maybe you’re like I once was, feeling more like a curmudgeon than a bundle of holiday cheer.
In this episode of Office Hours, I explain why the holidays so often surface disappointment, sadness, and annoyance, and what research on memory reveals about why this happens. I share ways to reframe difficult memories, and my Christmas protocol, designed to help quiet the noise, focus on what truly matters, and move through the season with more gratitude and peace.
Referenced:
• Remembering the past to imagine the future: the prospective brain
• Perspectives on episodic-like and episodic memory
• Episodic memory: from mind to brain
• Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in social-emotional development
• Attributions, deception, and event-related potentials: an investigation of the self-serving bias
• A measure of Christmas spirit
• A Seasonal Guide to Better Well-Being
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