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Reflections

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Post-holiday Decompression: Letting Go of Childhood Coping Patterns
Vicky Huangfu Vicky Huangfu

Post-holiday Decompression: Letting Go of Childhood Coping Patterns

After the holidays, old family dynamics can reactivate childhood coping patterns like people-pleasing, fawning, and emotional shutdown. This trauma-informed reflection explores why these strategies once kept you safe, why they now feel exhausting, and how healing means updating—not shaming—your nervous system responses.

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