Why You Become Your 12-Year-Old Self at Christmas (and What It Means for Your Love Life)

If Christmas leaves you feeling more activated than festive… this episode is your permission slip to breathe. In today’s solo episode, we explore why going home for the holidays can pull you straight back into old patterns — the people-pleasing, the shrinking, the performing, the overthinking — even after all the therapy, the journaling, the self-awareness. Because the truth is: your family isn’t the trigger; your family is the blueprint. In this conversation, we dive into why being around family reactivates your nervous system, the identity you slip into at home (and how it shows up in dating too), the avoidant, anxious, and shutdown patterns that surface during the holidays, how Christmas can become a portal into real relational healing, five gentle things to notice in your body this week, and a simple regulation practice you can use anytime you feel yourself spiralling. This episode isn’t about fixing yourself; it’s about seeing yourself — clearly, tenderly, honestly. Because everything that gets activated around your family at Christmas is the same thing that gets activated in your relationships. When you learn to meet it with curiosity instead of self-judgment, everything begins to shift.→ Come say hi on Instagram: @lucy__maeve→ Join the waitlist for the group programme→ FREE breathing Practice