Your Mind Is a Snow Globe: Noticing Thoughts in a Busy December
ACT skills for when everything’s swirling at once
❄️ December 16, 2025
🌨️ Hook: when your brain gets shaken
December can feel like someone shook your internal snow globe—memories, worries, to-do lists, and shoulds all swirling at once. When is that thing and where? Who has the food allergy? What am I supposed to wear to the school/work event? What if I just fly to Rome and opt out? If that sounds familiar, you’re human.
🔎 Why the swirl happens
High-meaning seasons (holidays, year-end, anniversaries, weather shifts) crank up cognitive load and emotional salience, which nudges the mind toward worry, comparison, and self-criticism. Mind-wandering and rumination rise under stress; attention gets sticky (Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011; Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008). You are not broken—your brain is doing “threat + planning” on overdrive.
🧊 present-moment awareness + cognitive defusion
In Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), we practice two moves:
Defusion — creating a little space from sticky thoughts so they’re seen as thoughts, not commands or absolute truths.
Present-moment awareness — gently anchoring attention to what’s here (body, breath, one cue in the room) so you can choose your next step on purpose (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2012; Levin, Hildebrandt, Lillis, & Hayes, 2012).
➡️ Defusion: playful ways to step back from December thoughts
Try adding: “I’m noticing I’m having the thought that…”
“I’m noticing I’m having the thought that I’m a bad parent/partner if I can’t make this magical.”
“I’m noticing I’m having the thought that everyone else has it more together.”
Seasonal visuals to help:
Ornaments on a tree: hang each thought on a branch and step back.
Snowflakes in a globe: watch each thought drift down without chasing it.
Candle watching: thoughts flicker; you observe, you don’t touch.
Tip: Say the thought slowly in a silly voice or sing it softly to defuse its grip (a classic ACT trick).
90-second pauses you can actually do
Build tiny anchors into your day:
Warm mug check-in (30–90 sec): feel the heat in your hands; exhale longer than you inhale.
Scarf cue: when you wrap it on, notice texture on your neck + the next useful action.
Neighborhood lights: pick one color, trace it with your eyes, and let your shoulders drop.
Song snippet: one verse of a favorite track → breathe with the beat.
Doorway breaths: every time you cross a doorway, two slow exhales.
Short mindfulness bursts reduce rumination and improve attentional control over time (Keng et al., 2011).
🧵 when the swirl is also about belonging
For many—queer/trans folks, first-gen families, people working multiple jobs, those whose beliefs differ from family culture, or those who don’t celebrate holidays—the swirl includes safety, identity, code-switching, and logistics. Your practices should fit your reality: fewer events, sensory-friendly plans, budget boundaries, and chosen-family rituals count as skillful, values-based choices.
Try this: Snow Globe Practice
Notice the swirl. “Snow is up.”
Name 1–2 thoughts: “I’m noticing I’m having the thought that _________.”
Anchor: choose one sensation (hand on chest, feet on floor, warmth of a mug) or choose one value-led move (send the text, decline the event, drink water, write the allergy on a sticky note).
Return: let the rest of the snow settle on its own.
🧷 Untrendy but True
You don’t have to stop the storm to take a step.
Name the swirl, anchor once, choose one caring move.
🧠 Resources for the Curious
📱 Short Practices
1–3 minute breath/grounding from UCLA Mindful or Insight Timer (search: “1 minute,” “box breathing,” “grounding”).
Body scan snippets (2–5 minutes) for “warm mug,” “scarf cue,” or “doorway breaths.”
📚 Books
Peace Is Every Step — Thích Nhất Hạnh
Micro-mindfulness in everyday moments (tea, walking, dishwashing).Real Happiness — Sharon Salzberg
28-day mindfulness with tiny, doable practices (great for 90-sec pauses).How to Keep House While Drowning — K.C. Davis
Compassionate, executive-function-friendly “good enough” systems for overwhelmed brains.
🎧 Podcasts / Short listens
Radio Headspace — 3–5 minute daily anchors; perfect for “doorway breaths.
The Mindful Minute (Meryl Arnett) — approachable meditations for busy brains.
📓 References
Harris, R. (2009). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New Harbinger.
Hayes, S. C. (2019). A liberated mind: How to pivot toward what matters. Avery.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Keng, S.-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041–1056.
Levin, M. E., Hildebrandt, M., Lillis, J., & Hayes, S. C. (2012). The impact of treatment components on psychological flexibility: A meta-analysis. Behavior Modification, 36(6), 1–24.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(5), 400–424.