Year-end celebrations are typically associated with family gatherings, personal reflections, and expectations of enjoyment. However, for many people, December also brings intense emotions, relational tensions, social pressures, and a widespread feeling of 'an obligation to be well.' Experts emphasize that for those who experience these dates with enthusiasm or emotional well-being, there is a special task: to be attentive to their surroundings, promote spaces for genuine connection, and offer gestures of inclusion and support to those going through vulnerable moments. According to the Argentine News Agency, based on historical records from the Psychiatry Service of the Italian Hospital, consultations increase by nearly 20% in December compared to the annual average, highlighting the emotional weight of this period. Soledad Dawson, director of the Master's in Relationships and Families at the university of the aforementioned health center, explains that holidays activate high demands on how relationships and celebrations should be. 'The idea of 'how things should be' is imposed: how to behave, how to gather, what feelings to have. When the environment does not listen or understand what one is going through, discomfort increases.' From a mental health perspective, Licentiate Ana Hulka, coordinator of the Groups, Family, and Couple team at the aforementioned health center's Psychiatry Service, adds that December not only awakens emotions related to the end of the year but also reactivates various types of grief. 'It is not only about the loss of a loved one. Nostalgia for traditions that no longer exist, children or relatives who live far away, family changes that modify rituals, or absences that are more strongly felt during these dates also appear.' As a guide, from the aforementioned health center and its University, some central recommendations are highlighted: do not force emotional states or minimize what is felt; recognize one's own and others' emotions, even when they are contradictory; allow nostalgia and memory without guilt; identify when stress becomes excessive; communicate needs and limits clearly; avoid the demand to 'close everything' or meet all social expectations; adapt celebrations to each family's real possibilities; be flexible with rituals and traditions; understand that relationships change and, with them, ways of gathering. 'When this does not match what we really feel, a gap between expectation and reality arises, generating anxiety, discomfort, and guilt,' she states. Dawson also points out that annual changes in family dynamics—absences, geographical distances, conflicts, or reconfigurations—tend to intensify during these days, increasing the feeling of sadness or loneliness, and to this are added economic pressures and the influence of foreign cultural models. 'We try to replicate scenes from other traditions, as if life should resemble a movie, and this only adds more demand.' Meanwhile, Licentiate Cintia Pereira, coordinator of the Psychology Residency and a staff psychologist at the same hospital's Psychiatry Service, pointed out that at this time of year, there is a strong external and internal demand that often becomes overwhelming: 'We are expected to attend all gatherings, be available, and respond with enthusiasm. But not always people can or want to.'
