Excerpt:
The holidays carry a strange kind of duality, one part magic, one part ache. We grow up absorbing images of effortless gatherings, cozy traditions, and families who somehow transform into their best selves the moment December arrives. Yet for many, real life tells a different story. Expectations brush up against lived experience, old family dynamics resurface, and the season can feel far more complex than anyone openly admits.

If you’ve ever wondered why joy and heaviness appear at the same table this time of year, or why you feel pressured to “perform” holiday cheer even when something inside you is tender, you’re not alone. This piece explores the emotional layers beneath the season, how conditioning, family systems, trauma history, and longing all interact, and how reclaiming the holidays on your own terms can create something far more honest and grounding than perfection ever could. Continue reading The Complexity of Conditioned Expectation During the Holiday Season.