Key points

Holiday cues can reactivate emotional memories tied to earlier identities.

Emotional recall research helps explain why these feelings appear suddenly.

Seasonal grief may reflect the loss of roles, dreams, or former selves.

The holiday season often brings a mix of warmth, memory , and emotional intensity. Many people describe feeling unexpectedly sad or unsettled this time of year, even when nothing distressing has happened recently. This emotional heaviness is often assumed to be grief for loved ones who are no longer here. But another kind of grief frequently arises, one that is quieter and rarely named: grief for the selves we once were.

Holiday environments are rich with sensory cues: music, scents, decorations, and familiar foods. Research on emotional memory, inclu

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