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Have you ever walked into a holiday gathering with a smile on your face and a knot in your stomach? You’re passing the potatoes, making small talk, and meanwhile you’re sitting on years of unspoken hurt, unresolved conversations, and roles you never quite chose but still end up playing.

In this episode of Love Shack Live, we’re talking directly to you if your relationship (or family dynamics) already feel shaky and the holidays crank everything up to a ten. We’ll unpack why this season doesn’t create conflict, it magnifies what’s been left unresolved... old wounds, family roles, people pleasing, anxious attachment, and the “keep the peace at all costs” habits that quietly erode connection.

Inside, we explore:

• What conflict actually is: the collision between our expectations and reality
• How people pleasing and staying “nice” often keeps you stuck in illusion instead of reality
• Why unresolved tension turns tiny comments into huge reactions around the table
• What it really means to emotionally regulate (and why it’s more like holding a plank than being perfectly calm)
• How to see conflict as information, not danger, so you can respond instead of explode or shut down
• Our “holiday decoder” for common one-liners (“Let’s just keep it simple this year,” “Let’s not talk about politics,” etc.) and what’s really being said underneath

If you’re tired of dreading gatherings, biting your tongue, or blowing up and then regretting it, this conversation will help you start seeing conflict differently – as a doorway to clarity instead of a sign that everything’s falling apart.

Want extra support this holiday season?

If things already feel tense or overwhelming, the Holiday Survival Bundle gives you the tools to steady yourself fast.

For $97 or 2 payments of $55, you’ll get:

• The Holiday Stress Test to pinpoint your exact pressure points
• Three core relationship skill programs to help you:
  • regulate your emotions
  • communicate without blowups
  • stay connected during the hardest weeks of the year

These tools are simple, fast to use, and made for real-life holiday chaos.

Get the bundle here: https://stacibartley.com/holiday-bundle-nc

Timestamps:

02:09 Unresolved History and Family Roles
06:18 Understanding Conflict: Expectations vs. Reality
10:08 The Illusion of People Pleasing
12:36 Emotional Regulation and Communication
14:54 Practical Examples and Skills for Conflict Resolution
21:08 The Importance of Emotional Tension
25:33 Recognizing the Precipice: Taking a Pause
25:52 The Power of Movement: Shake a Bush
26:11 Emotional Regulation in Relationships
28:49 Understanding Conflict and Chaos
33:25 Navigating Holiday Stress
35:37 Introducing the Holiday Survival Bundle
38:20 Fan Mail and Listener Questions
41:20 Holiday Conversation Decoder Challenge
45:13 Final Thoughts and Resources

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When your relationship is already on the rocks, the holidays don’t feel magical. They feel brittle. One sharp comment in the kitchen, one loaded question at the dinner table, and suddenly everyone is walking on eggshells just trying to “get through it.”

In this episode of Love Shack Live, Staci, Tom, and Brooke talk honestly about why the holidays hit struggling couples so hard. They unpack the collision between Hallmark expectations and real-life pressure: money stress, family dynamics, political tension, old wounds, and the silent agreements to “just make it good for the kids” and deal with the relationship later.

You’ll hear real stories from their own family table, along with the emotional patterns they see every year in their work with couples. And instead of white-knuckling your way to January, Staci shares the exact skills that help you steady yourself when things get tense:

• How to set realistic expectations so you don’t collapse under pressure
• How to slow your nervous system when you’re spinning up
• How to create tiny rituals of connection, even if you’re separated
• How to set agreements with your partner before you walk into the holiday chaos
• How to repair quickly when something goes sideways

And because so many listeners have asked what they can do right now to avoid another painful, disconnected holiday season, Staci created something special for this moment:

🎁 The Holiday Survival Bundle: a limited-release set of relationship skills for navigating the season with more calm, clarity, and connection. It includes:

✓ 3 proven skills programs

✓ The Holiday Stress Test (your personal roadmap of where tension will hit)

✓ A private mini-session with Staci (only 20 available)

If the holidays already feel heavy, or you know you don’t want to repeat last year’s patterns, this is your next best step. It’s simple, practical, and designed to help you feel steadier fast.

✨ Grab your Holiday Survival Bundle while the 1:1 spots are still open:

stacibartley.com/holiday-bundle

Timestamps:

04:17 The Pressure of Expectations
06:37 The Importance of Relationship Skills
19:38 Realistic Expectations for the Holidays
21:18 The Power of Slowing Down
26:12 Communication and Emotional Regulation Skills
30:32 Understanding Emotional Motivators
34:05 Family Dynamics and Religion
34:39 The Power of Understanding
36:15 Modeling Behavior for the Next Generation
37:12 The Gift of Listening
39:00 Managing Family Interactions
39:46 Setting Realistic Expectations
42:32 Handling Difficult Conversations
44:27 Creating a Supportive Environment
46:38 Navigating Separation During Holidays
50:34 Bringing Joy to the Holidays
52:42 Introducing the Holiday Survival Bundle
56:49 Fan Mail and Practical Tips
01:00:50 Closing Thoughts and Resources

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Have you ever looked around your life and thought, “I didn’t plan to end up here”? Maybe you’re standing in that uneasy space between what was and what’s next, holding on, letting go, or trying to begin again.

In this episode of Love Shack Live, Staci, Tom, and Brooke open a deeply honest conversation about what it means to rebuild, heal, and love again. They share the emotional skills that transform heartbreak into growth, awareness, emotional regulation, communication that actually works, and connection that feels safe instead of scary.

You’ll also hear a major announcement: The Dating Rebellion, a new community inside the Better Love Club created for people who are ready to date differently. It’s not a dating app or matchmaking service; it’s a movement for those tired of ghosting, games, and performance. It’s for anyone ready to meet others with courage, self-awareness, and genuine presence.

Throughout the episode, we unpack the real reason most relationships end (it’s not lack of love), why emotional burnout destroys connection, and how to build capacity again, not just to survive, but to show up fully in love. They remind us that the relationship cycle doesn’t really end. Whether you’re in space and separation, trying to save your marriage, or dipping your toes back into dating, the skills are the same.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why love fails when emotional “gas tanks” run dry, and how to refill them
• The difference between communication tips and true emotional skill
• How to regulate your nervous system before you try to reconnect
• What the Dating Rebellion is (and what it’s not)
• How to move from heartbreak to healing, and then into healthy new love

Because love doesn’t end when a relationship does. It transforms.

And when we learn the real skills of love, the human kind, we discover that we are the algorithm.

Timestamps:
02:32 The Importance of Emotional Awareness
05:01 Facing Ourselves: The Courage to Seek Help
09:10 Emotional Weightlifting: Building Resilience
17:54 Communication Mastery: Expressing Needs and Cleaning Up Messes
22:22 The Importance of Relationship Skills
23:04 The Disney Fairytale Myth
25:28 Emotional Capacity and Burnout
27:56 The Man Who Kept Showing Up
30:56 Introducing The Dating Rebellion
37:18 Upcoming Events and Retreats
41:21 Fan Mail and Final Thoughts

💞 Resources Mentioned in This Episode

1. Join The Dating Rebellion: https://dating-rebellion.scoreapp.com/
2. The Better Love Club: https://stacibartley.com/better-love-club
3. Episode 247: From Roommates to Lovers Again: The Skills That Bring You Back Together: https://stacibartley.com/from-roommates-to-lovers-again-the-skills-that-bring-you-back-together/
4. Couples Retreat (Tuscany 2026): https://stacibartley.com/couples-retreat