Living in Survival Mode

When home wasn’t safe, holidays don’t feel like a pause.
They feel like something to get through.

This conversation touches on what it’s like living in survival mode, why festive seasons can bring stress instead of joy, and how childhood dynamics quietly shape the way we relate to rest, family, and silence today.

👉Watch The Full Podcast Here:
   • Everyone Loves the Holidays. So Why Don’t I?  

revelry PODCAST 0139 ft. revelry HQ (Secret Santa + Single Parent Childhood)

This year’s Christmas episode starts like a joke… and ends up way deeper than we expected.

We kick things off with a chaotic Secret Santa then each person has to answer a random question after receiving their gift — “high & low” style. What starts as banter (Uniqlo gifts, Victorinox knives, giant champagne glasses, “don’t be a DJ” type comments) slowly turns into real talk about what our childhood shaped in us.

Some of us grew up in single-parent homes. Some of us grew up in homes that didn’t feel safe. And we realised… birds of the same feather really do flock together. So instead of a “happy Christmas episode”, we went there: trauma, hypervigilance, PTSD at home, people-pleasing, rushing as a default mode, struggling with trust, and how all of that shows up in adulthood — relationships, friendships, work, even food.

If festive seasons have ever made you feel weirdly empty, out of place, or like you don’t know how to celebrate “normally”… this one’s for you.