For the women who don’t dread Christmas because they’re alone —

but because they’ve spent years pretending their family is whole.

You’re not angry. You’re not cruel. You’re not broken.
You just stopped pretending a relationship was safe when it wasn’t.

As the festive season creeps in, so does a particular kind of pressure — one that tells us to buy the gifts, post the smiles, and sit around the table like nothing ever happened.

For some women, that pressure is wrapped in silence.
Not grief for a mother who’s passed...
But for a relationship they never truly had.

The Unspoken Pain of the Mother-Daughter Wound

We don’t talk about what it’s like to dread a message from your mother —
or to plan your holiday around avoiding her, not honouring her.

We rarely say out loud:

“I don’t like my mother.”

Even when it's the most honest thing we know.

In my work as a coach and mentor, I speak with high-functioning, emotionally aware women every week who share versions of this truth:

• “I’m the one who always kept the peace.”

• “I was made to feel like the problem for having boundaries.”

• “She plays the victim, but I carried the cost.”

• “I’ve gone no contact, but the guilt still creeps in.”

Estrangement Doesn’t Always Look Like Conflict

Some women choose low-contact. Some go no-contact.
Not to hurt — but to heal.

It’s not bitterness.
It’s not revenge.
It’s clarity.

You reach a point where you stop trying to get someone to be accountable for the things they’ll never claim.
You realise that being around them costs more than it gives.
And that not liking your mother… doesn’t make you a bad daughter.
It makes you honest.

Redefining Motherhood — On Your Terms

This time of year can feel especially raw for women who are now mothers themselves.
The desire to do it differently — to raise children with presence, not performance — runs deep.

You're not trying to be perfect.
You're trying to be real.
You’re choosing softness where there was control.
Boundaries where there was guilt.
Accountability instead of appeasement.

This is what breaking the cycle looks like:
It’s quiet. Often invisible. But it’s the deepest kind of change.

You’re Not Alone

If you’re holding quiet dread about Christmas and family dynamics this year, know this:

You’re not the only one.
You’re just one of the first to name it.

And if you’re ready to stop scrolling and start unravelling this in a safe, supported way. If you'd like help navigating this  — I’ve created a space just for that.

DM me "SILENT SEASON" on Instagram or use the contact link on my website and I’ll take the pressure off.