11/27/2025
You don’t have to be happy on Thanksgiving.
You don’t have to perform joy, hide your heaviness, or pretend the day feels easier than it is.
For some, today brings connection.
For others, it brings grief, pressure, loneliness, complicated family dynamics, or the weight of trying to “hold it together.”
If that’s you—there’s nothing wrong with you. Your nervous system is responding to a real experience, not a holiday expectation.
Here are a few gentle anchors to help you move through the day:
• Choose regulation over performance.
If you need to step away, breathe, or take a 5-minute reset—honor it. Emotional safety always comes before social expectations.
• Keep one small boundary.
Decide now what you will or won’t participate in (conversations, food pressure, emotional labor). One boundary can protect your whole day.
• Feed yourself with intention.
Not just food—rest, silence, hydration, pacing. Your body isn’t a machine, and it doesn’t have to “push through.”
• Let today be honest, not perfect.
You’re allowed to show up exactly as you are.
Wishing you strength, steadiness, and the courage to take care of you today. 🖤
— Dr. Charryse Johnson