Creators Laura Clery, Zizo, and others join the initiative to spark conversations about holiday stress.

The holiday season is often framed as a time of joy and celebration. Yet for many, it brings emotional overload, increased pressure, and the expectation to appear cheerful. This winter, Liven, the company behind a self-discovery app, is challenging the cultural norm of toxic cheerfulness by encouraging honest conversations about stress, expectations, and the importance of self-reflection through its campaign.

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“The holidays often trigger accumulated emotions we’ve learned to suppress,” said Valeria Synenko, CMO at Liven. “By challenging toxic cheerfulness, we want to normalize how people really feel and promote self-awareness instead of self-judgment.”

To spread this message, Liven partnered with digital creators who use irony-driven storytelling to show how ordinary holiday chores can quietly escalate into emotional overload.

Laura Clery shares how life stress, from major personal changes to parenting responsibilities, can resurface during the holidays when pressure is high, and patience runs thin. In such moments, even small disruptions, like a self-checkout machine, can become the breaking point. Laura emphasizes the importance of looking inward to understand the roots behind the reactions.

Creator Zizo approaches the topic by examining high self-expectations, exploring how the desire for a “perfect” holiday mood can push people beyond their limits. The takeaway is simple yet powerful: it’s okay not to feel okay, and pausing to care for yourself can be the first step toward inner peace.

At the core of the initiative is Liven’s approach to self-discovery: helping people notice patterns, understand the roots of their reactions, and pause before overwhelm takes over. In addition, Liven offers expert-led in-app content with practical tips on managing emotional overload, recognizing triggers, and building self-reflection habits — supporting people in both everyday life and seasonally intense periods, including the holidays.

To explore Liven’s winter holiday campaign and reflect on the moments behind emotional overload, visit Liven on Instagram at @theliven.app or take the interactive quiz.

About the Liven app

Liven is a self-discovery companion app chosen by over 2 million users worldwide. Guided by licensed therapists and certified coaches, Liven offers a curated experience that helps people understand the roots of their emotional reactions and build habits that support emotional balance.

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