Self Care During the Holidays: What Pottery Teaches Me About Finding Peace
Creativity has a way of grounding us.
Pottery has shaped the way I show up as a trauma therapist, teaching me patience, presence, and the beauty of the process.
The holiday season is often described as joyful and bright, but for many people it brings stress, pressure, grief, and old patterns of shame. That is why self care during the holidays matters so deeply. In this week’s episode, I share what pottery teaches me about finding peace when life feels hectic or overwhelming. As a trauma-therapist and pottery enthusiast, I see every day how creative practices and mindful presence can help us stay centered when the season pulls us off balance.
In the episode, I talk about how pottery and mindfulness work together to create moments of calm and clarity. These creative practices help me slow down, reconnect with myself, and interrupt shame spirals when the season feels heavy. They are simple but powerful ways to return to center and find peace, even when life is overwhelming.
Understanding Holiday Stress
Holiday stress is more than feeling busy or stretched thin. It is the emotional weight that builds when expectations rise, schedules get full, grief resurfaces, and old family patterns show up all at once. Even if stress is part of our life year round, the holidays often amplify it. There is more pressure, more noise, and more opportunities for old wounds or shame spirals to get triggered.
As a trauma and faith-based therapist, I see this every year with clients in Texas and Florida. And, let’s be honest, I feel it in my own life too. We work so hard to create meaningful moments for everyone else that we forget to check in with ourselves. We absorb the pressure to make everything perfect or peaceful, even when that expectation isn’t realistic.
Holiday stress shows up in many forms:
feeling overwhelmed
managing family dynamics
grief for loved ones who are not here
financial strain
overstimulation
pressure to perform or hold everything together
trying to meet unrealistic expectations
resurfacing childhood patterns
shame when we cannot do it all
We do not always realize how much weight expectations carry until we feel that pressure rising. Whether it is trying to keep everyone happy, hosting with a smile, or finding the perfect gift for Billy Bob, unrealistic expectations can pull us off center fast. Naming holiday stress helps us understand what is happening internally. Instead of blaming ourselves for feeling off, it gives us language for something many of us experience but rarely talk about. When we name it for what it is, we can release the pressure and begin to breathe again.
Pottery and Mindfulness: Finding Inner Peace
Centering clay on the wheel requires presence. If the clay wobbles, the whole piece wobbles. If my mind is scattered, the clay reflects it instantly. This parallel has taught me more about mindfulness than almost anything else.
Mindfulness does not have to be complicated. It is simply the act of noticing:
what your breath is doing
what your body is carrying
what emotion is rising
what your heart is trying to say
Presence is the path back to peace. Pottery reminds me of that truth every time I sit at the wheel. When my hands settle the clay, my breath settles with it. When the clay begins to center, something inside me centers too. Mindfulness does not take away the hard moments, but it gives us the ability to meet those moments with steadiness instead of panic. It pulls us out of the rush, the noise, and the expectations of the season and brings us back into our body, back into our breath, and back into the safety of the present moment. In that stillness, peace has room to rise again.
These grounding practices gently guide us back toward finding peace when the season feels heavy.
Recognizing Signs You Are Off Center
Holiday stress doesn’t always show up as big emotions. Sometimes it shows up quietly, in the small moments where something inside feels just a little off.
You might notice:
snapping at small things
feeling overwhelmed
shame spirals
perfectionism
withdrawing
emotional exhaustion
overstimulation
shutting down
The holidays often intensify these reactions. The expectations, full schedules, noise, pressure to create meaningful moments, and even grief for loved ones can push you off center before you realize it is happening.
These are not signs of failure. They are signs that your nervous system is overloaded and needs a gentle reset. Your body is telling you that it needs a moment of care, not criticism.
As a faith-based therapist, I also see how easily shame tries to speak in these moments. Shame tells us our collapse defines us. But it does not. What feels like failure is often just a moment to pause, breathe, refocus, and reset.
Naming what is pushing you off center is the first step to interrupting the cycle of shame.
If you find yourself slipping into shame during the holidays, my free Shame Quiz is a simple tool to help you understand your patterns and begin interrupting the shame cycle.
Embracing Creative Practices for Self Care
Creativity is one of the most effective tools for emotional regulation. Whether it is pottery, cooking, journaling, woodworking, music, or sewing, creative expression helps:
lower stress hormones
ease anxiety
interrupt shame spirals
create focus
bring calm into the body
Creative practices reconnect us with our inner resilience. They soothe the nervous system and help restore clarity when life feels overwhelming.
For many people in Central Texas, Florida, and beyond, creativity becomes a doorway to healing and connection, especially during the holidays.
Conclusion: Keys to a Calmer Holiday Season
Self care is not a luxury. It is the support structure that helps us move through the holidays with steadiness, intention, and grace. By recognizing holiday stress, noticing early signs of overwhelm, and embracing creative practices like pottery, we can protect our peace and find a better way to move through the season.
If you are feeling the weight of this time of year, you are not alone. Give yourself space to breathe, create, and reconnect. Peace is possible, even in the busiest seasons.
The Shame Quiz
Could shame be holding you back?
Take this free quiz and find out today!
📍 Eleanor Brown, MA, LPC — faith-based therapist in Central Texas
💻 Serving clients across Texas and Florida via telehealth
