Stress Relief and Headache Management During the Holiday Season
- Nikki the Nerd LMT
- Dec 29, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
Welcome to Wellnes Chats & Anatomy Facts: where a nerd can be a nerd.
The holidays are here and this time of year brings about high pressure, loads of expectation and endless to-do's. Whatever your holiday hustle may consist of don't forget to take this time to appreciate all the hard work you've accomplished throughout the year and take some much needed downtime to relax and restore. You're not a machine, you're a human-- and you deserve time to recharge. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, reflect upon the year past and motivate for the year ahead with a plan of action.
I wanted to assess how I could create a reference guide that would most benefit the people I serve, so I asked groups of high-achieving entrepreneur's and diverse professionals what tension they tend to struggle with the most during the holiday season--- and where that stress shows up physically. I listened to their feedback so I could efficiently and effectively curate a guide for during and after the holiday season. Reference it all year-round!
The Predominant Point of Tension People Suffer With:
It appears that majority of people, reported to hold their stress in their neck and shoulders. With the lower back being the runner-up. Tension in this region typically results from the trapezius muscle (aka: the traps). A diamond shape muscle that connects at the base of the neck, both shoulders and the mid-back. Its among our largest muscles and highly susceptible to tension due to overuse and stress.
Especially for desk-workers. (I know your hunched over, fix your posture!)
What Happens When the Traps Have Trigger Points and Tension?
When we have built-up tension in our traps the result can be headaches. When its really bad, restriction and limited range of motion. Due to the contracting and tightening of the muscles, the occipital nerves and arteries in the neck can become compressed or compromised. As soon as this impingement starts, even slightly, the result is a headache that can feel as intense as a migraine, with the same range of symptoms.
These migraine-like headaches aren't always the result of having true neurological migraines, but simply from having increased tension in the muscles of the neck, which then causes pressure on the nerves and decreased blood flow to the head.
Its the end of the year though, so work still needs to be done, meals cooked, parties planned, gift-giving, hosting and the works! However, there is plenty of ways to avoid reaching that point of intensity and managing it when it does happen.
When tension and trigger points begin to flare up, if you can't get a massage ASAP, the best thing to do outside of professional massage therapy, is active self-care for relief and prevention.
Here are my Headache and Stress Relief Do's & Don'ts:
Get a good pillow.
Ideally, your pillow shouldnt have your head elevated too high or too low. The best support for the neck while sleeping is a pillow that supports the natural C-shaped curvature in the cervical spine. Finding a pillow that allows for proper support of the neck is really important to prevent persistent neck pain. We spend a third of our time sleeping, so its well worth it to invest in a quality pillow (and mattress!).
Take screen-time breaks.
Looking down at a phone or computer for hours has impacts on our neck, shoulders, mid-back and eyes. All of these areas contribute to headaches and tension. Taking short breaks in between screen-time while working, at minimum every hour can really help alleviate pressure from long-term screen-usage. The best thing to do is walk away all together and limit your screen-time daily to a minimum, that means no more than 15-30 minutes on social media. However, due to our technological society and work demands, being mindful of taking intermittent breaks is your best bet, regardless of how that looks for you.
The Clinical Proof: Constantly looking down at screens can result in whats called "Anterior Scalene Syndrome" and the 42 pound head. Which means that the more we look down, the more we are weakening and straining our neck muscles. Resulting in a forward positioning of the head and the feeling of the head being heavier as a result.
Neck Rolls and Stretches
If you cant do a full 360 circle with your neck, half moon circles are a great way to loosen up the cervical spine and relax those muscles. Rolling your neck by going chin to shoulder gently on both sides and then going backwards and rolling ear to shoulder is a gentle way to alleviate tension, calm trigger points and keep those ligaments/tendons loose. Doing so prevents nerve impingement and reduces the amount of headaches you will get. There are several helpful stretches you can do to prevent and manage neck discomfort, start with these:
*DON'T try to force your neck by pulling too hard during a stretch or moving too quickly during a roll.*
Heating Pad
Having a warm bean bag, hot towel or heating pad (on a safe setting) on your neck really help to relax tense muscles and reduce headaches. The heat promotes blood flow and stimulation, allowing the head to receive the circulation that may be compromised due to the tension. Some people like to use cold to stop the swelling, however in my professional opinion, unless you just had an injury or direct impact on the neck, I reccommend heat and perhaps a cold pack on the eyes to decrease swelling there.
Self-Massage
Massage in almost all cases is the best solution at getting to the root of resolving neck tension and headaches. Massage can directly target the muscles, release impingements, alleviate adhesions and promote blood flow. If you can't make it to see me or another professional LMT, self-massage is a good alternative.
CBD oil is a great topical treatment to use while doing self-massage but aromatherapy infused oil is another great choice. Otherwise, any oil or lotion works.
Getting Started with Self-Massage:
Start at the base of your neck, the occiput, where you have that ridge that connects your head and neck. Start by gently palpating your fingers along that ridge. Carefully increasing pressure as needed. You want to push up into the bottom edges of the ridge with a soft circular stroke, pushing into the muscles that insert and releasing any hardened tension.
*DON'T dig around deeply in your neck and DON'T let anyone else do it either, even a "pro." That means no tools, deep tissue or anything sharp.
Once you have a feel for the region, start shifting or gliding your fingertips side to side and then wiggle the tips of your fingers up and down into the ridge, careful to not push inside the occiput too hard.
After massaging the occipit, start doing those same sort of massage techniques down the edges of the center of your spine. This targets the traps. You want to massage along the edges of spine, being mindful of avoiding and not pushing too hard on the spinal veterbraes. You never want to push on the spine directly. Especially on the outer-sides of your neck where the spinous process sticks out!
When you get down to the top of your shoulders, start squeezing your fingers and palms along the tops of the shoulders inside where the neck and shoulder T-out. Getting your palms in the soft spot in-between the neck and clavicle, you should feel the edge your palms along the edge of the bone, but not on it. Continue to squeeze your fingertips on the edges of the top of the shoulder-bone (scalpula).
Keep applying pressure as comfortable and getting familiar with your body and how it feels. Notice what reduces the pain and what causes more. Pay attention to areas that feel internally hollow and sensitive, these are called endagerment sites.
Important DON'T:
You never want to use too much pressure or force on the neck. Despite what some may argue, this causes irreversible damage of the neck and is not necessary for relief. Therapeutic massage utilizes deeper pressure when necessary and comfortable to release the muscle but, by no means should anyone be using hard or deep pressure on neck. Especially around or on the spinal vertebraes or inside the front of the neck. This can cause a vertebrae to shift out of alignment or nerve damage, which will cause you more pain than before.
Informed touch is incredibly important and no treatment or suggestion is guaranteed to provide relief. This means being honest about your pain tolerance, listening to your body and being able to distinguish between pain and discomfort are key factors. Communicate well with anyone who works on you, even yourself. Listen to your body. It speaks.
Arnica, Peppermint and Eucalyptus Herbal Remedies
These are phenomenal herbs to implement into your daily habits. Getting a high quality essentail oil and blending it in a carrier oil to massage onto your neck and shoulders will help with temporary relief.
Peppermint tea is a great choice when suffering with headaches due to its analgesic properties.
Buying fresh eucalyptus leaves (Trader Joe's sells them cheap!) and hanging them in your shower is believed to steam the leaves and provide tension relief for your muscles. Since heat from the shower opens up your pores and sinus' it allows the anti-spasmodic and decongestant properties in Eucalyptus to work.
Keep these tips close during the end of the year rush and utilize them all year round! Its my pleasure to share my knowledge and experience with you!
If these tips and advice helped you please like and comment below! Share your experience with me or if you feel you learned something that was useful to your daily habits.
Also Share this article to someone who suffer's with headaches and can benefit from it!
Warm Regards,
Nikki the Nerd LMT
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