Christmas can bring up stress in ways that feel confusing and unexpected.

Even when life feels stable, family time can activate old patterns, roles, and emotional responses that belong to much earlier chapters of our lives.

In this Christmas episode, somatic psychotherapist Shelley Treacher explores why family stress often intensifies at Christmas, how the nervous system remembers familiar environments, and why slowing down can feel surprisingly difficult at this time of year.

The episode includes a short public-domain fable, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, as a gentle reflection on safety, stimulation, and why calm matters. Shelley also shares personal reflections on learning to slow down, noticing urgency in the body, and how regulation often begins in very small steps.

This episode is for anyone who feels more reactive, tired, or unsettled around family at Christmas. Also for you if you want a compassionate, body-based understanding of what’s happening.

Here's another Christmas episode you may relate to: The Pressure to be Cheerful at Christmas. A Real Talk Christmas Podcast

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Feeling overwhelmed is not a sign of weakness or over-sensitivity. It’s your body trying to protect you.

In this episode, I guide you through three easy somatic exercises for overwhelm. Each one helps you regulate your nervous system and feel safe again. You’ll come home to your body and the support beneath you, so you can feel clearer and stronger.

You can use this episode when:
• You feel overwhelmed or flooded
• You’re stressed, anxious, or overloaded
• You’ve been holding everything together for too long
• You need a moment to feel comforted and connected again

💚 Shelley
Somatic Psychotherapist, BACP Senior Accredited
https://www.bristolcounselling.co.uk/stress-anxiety-podcasts/

Your next episode: Coping with Anxiety: 10 Somatic Ways to Calm Overthinking

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Learn why early survival patterns repeat in love, and how to reconnect with your true self through somatic awareness.
In this episode, Shelley Treacher explains how early survival patterns can quietly take over in relationships.
Through the story of a woman who learned to find her voice after years of self-silencing, Shelley explores how somatic therapy helps us reconnect with our bodies, recognise old defences, and rebuild authentic connection.

You’ll learn:

• Why conflict triggers old fear responses
• How shrinking to keep the peace starts as protection, not weakness
• What happens when one person changes their energy in a relationship
• How to stay connected to yourself - even when love feels shaky

This is the heart of relationship therapy - finding steadiness inside, while staying open to connection.

Watch the related video: Stop Losing Yourself in Love

Explore more relationship episodes: bristolcounselling.co.uk/relationships

Send us a text

Want to see if we're a good fit for working together?
Let's book a complimentary telephone call to talk.

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If this podcast helped you, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts