As I sat there at the holiday table, surrounded by my family, my dad shot me a disapproving look. In his estimation, I'd put too much food on my plate. I didn't "deserve" it with the extra pounds I'd put on. He'd claimed his right over my body when I was a child and he still felt entitled to dictate how my body looked. I tried to ignore his silent rebuke but shame ran through me like an electric current.
Shame was usually served at our family gatherings. They heaped it on for not being spiritual enough or for being too petty. "Too petty" usually meant I'd expressed displeasure for being picked on. How dare I!
The "not enough" feeling compelled me to do more. Maybe I could make everything perfect so I'd be protected from criticism. Maybe I could even win their admiration. So I overspent on gifts and decorations trying to please them. And I overate to please me.
That was many years ago but I still remember feeling like holidays meant the pressure to please, exposure to more pain, and having to pretend to enjoy it. And that was on top of the typical stress that usually accompanies this time of year.
I didn't know it could be different.
How would it feel to love and nurture yourself through the holiday season so you can start the new year refreshed and inspired?
Join this free audio series and support emails for quick but powerful ways to eliminate the pain, frustration and overwhelm of the holiday season so you can actually thrive!
In these short (10-20 minute) audio classes, you'll get quick but powerful ways to take away the pain, frustration and overwhelm from your holiday season. I'll email you a lesson per day along with encouragement and practical tips for thriving through this season.
You'll be empowered to start the new year refreshed. Not only that, you can use these tools to create a more nurturing lifestyle for yourself throughout the whole year!
As a survivor of incest, sex trafficking and a 21-year long abusive marriage (now remarried to an emotionally healthy, loving and supportive man), I bring personal experience, empathy, and insight as well as professional training to help childhood sexual abuse survivors thrive.
I’m a Strategic Interventionist and Certified Professional Life Coach with a specialty Life Story certification. I'm also the CoFounder of Overcoming Sexual Abuse and author of The Rescued Soul.