Santa Claus, Trust, and the Nervous System A hard conversation; why it matters more than you thik

This might surprise some of you, but today I want to talk about Santa Claus.

Not to start a fight.
Not to shame parents.
Not to ruin anyone’s traditions.

This isn’t really about Christmas.

It’s about truth, trust, and what happens inside a human being—especially a child—when they realize the world isn’t always honest with them.

And yes… it ties directly into your nervous system, your intuition, and your ability to heal.

The moment that started it

I have grandkids from a blended family—different homes, different values, different traditions. Two of the oldest are six years old and they’re only about six months apart.

One day, the girls were off talking to each other, and they came back in with that look… you know the one. The look that says, “Something just got revealed.”

My granddaughter (I’ll call her A) looks at me and says:

“Scotty says Santa Claus isn’t real.”

Now if you know me, you know I value truth above almost everything. I’d rather hear the hard truth than be comforted by something false. So I didn’t dance around it.

I said:
“Yeah… Scotty’s right. Santa Claus isn’t real.”

And A immediately said the line that hit me like a punch:

“But my mom wouldn’t lie to me.”

And I remember thinking… What does a grandma say to that?

So I did my best to keep it gentle. I explained that people like to pretend—like a school play, like movies, like TV. That people dress up and act and create stories for fun. That lots of families make Santa into a game.

But I could tell by the look on her face… she didn’t feel like she was having fun.
She felt like something broke.

Then the questions came (because six-year-olds aren’t dumb):

“But I saw him at the store.”
Yes—someone dressed up. Pretending.
“What about reindeer?”
Reindeer are real. They don’t fly.
“What about the elf we can’t touch?”
That’s pretend too.

And as simple as that conversation was, I could see the deeper emotional undercurrent.

Nobody likes being lied to

Here’s the part people don’t talk about:

Nobody likes being lied to.
Not at six.
Not at thirty-six.
Not at sixty.

Even when a lie is wrapped in glitter and nostalgia—even when it’s “supposed to be fun”—the human nervous system still experiences the emotional signal:

“Something isn’t safe here.”

Because trust is safety.

And that’s where this gets deeper than Santa.

My daughter did the same thing at six

My kids are around 30 now. When they were little, I did Santa. I loved buying gifts. I loved the magic. I loved the whole thing.

Then I had a radical spiritual awakening in my life. And in that season, I came into a conviction: I’m not doing this anymore.

So I sat my daughter down—she was about six—and I told her the truth.

She put her little hands on her hips, got right in my face, and said:

“So you lied to me?”

And I looked at her and said:
“Yes. I did.”

She didn’t soften. She doubled down:

“And everybody lies?”

And I said:
“Yes… they do.”

And then she asked the purest question a six-year-old can ask:

“Why?”

And I didn’t have an answer.

Because what do you tell a child when you realize something that “everyone does” still doesn’t feel right?

What this has to do with your health

I’m a registered nurse by licensure, and I run Awakened Wellness—a functional wellness practice. I consider myself divorced from the sick-care system because I woke up.

And when I woke up, I realized something:

When I started questioning the medical system, the food system, the “normal” way of doing things…
I felt like my granddaughter.

It felt like:
“Wait… I’ve been lied to.”

And if you’ve ever felt that in your own life, you know what happens next.

You dig.
You seek truth.
You start asking uncomfortable questions.
You start looking at the other side of the coin.

That’s not rebellion.

That’s discernment.

Trust fractures create nervous system dysregulation

Here’s what I believe, based on life experience and what I’ve seen over and over:

When trust fractures—even in small ways—the nervous system adapts.

A child’s body and mind start learning:

“I can’t fully trust what I’m being told.”
“I have to override what I sense.”
“I need to depend on someone outside myself to decide what’s true.”
“Discomfort is normal.”
“Confusion is normal.”

And that carries forward.

That lens becomes how we interpret:

food marketing
cartoons and kid programming
school systems
medical authority
social pressure
cultural “norms”

And eventually, what happens to a lot of adults is this:

They don’t trust themselves.
They don’t trust their bodies.
They don’t trust their intuition.
They feel unsafe, but they don’t know why.

And a body that doesn’t feel safe… doesn’t heal well.

The “Santa economy” and the kids nobody talks about

I wrote about this in college, even before my spiritual convictions got deeper.

Santa isn’t just a character. He’s become a global symbol of commercialism.

And there’s a side of this that breaks my heart:

There are kids who are already struggling all year long—thin coats, empty cupboards, unstable homes—and then they come back to school after break and hear:

“What did Santa get you?”

Meanwhile, the kids who already had everything… got showered with more.

So if Santa rewards the “good” kids… what message does the child without gifts internalize?

That they’re bad.
That they’re unworthy.
That they were forgotten.

That’s not a small thing.

That’s a seed.

This isn’t about shame

Let me be clear:

I’m not calling parents bad.
I’m not here to accuse anybody.
Most people are doing what they were trained to do.

This is about giving you permission to ask:

Why does this matter to me?
Why does this stir me?
What does my body feel when I think about truth and trust?

Because sometimes the “cold pricklies” aren’t just annoyance.

Sometimes they’re your spirit and nervous system saying:

“Pay attention.”

Why I built Awakened Wellness

Awakened Wellness exists because I’m not here to sell normal mainstream health.

I’m here for the people who are tired of being handled.
Tired of being confused.
Tired of being told, “You’re fine,” while they feel exhausted, inflamed, anxious, stuck, and depleted.

I help people rebuild trust:

trust in their body
trust in their discernment
trust in consistent habits
trust in the long game

And no—this isn’t therapy and it isn’t medical advice. It’s education, perspective, and coaching support for people who want to take responsibility for their health.

The kayak metaphor: why group coaching works

A lot of people are living like they’re in a kayak alone, being swept downstream in whitewater rapids.

Downstream looks like:

processed food
toxic overload
stress
trauma
exhaustion
hormone chaos
chronic symptoms
“normal life” that slowly breaks you down

And most people are paddling alone, trying to fix it with willpower.

But when you join my group coaching, it’s different.

It’s like getting 20 people in one boat, rowing the same direction.

We’re not drifting downstream.
We’re going upstream—back toward health, back toward clarity, back toward stability.

And even when you get knocked around by life (because you will), you’re not alone. You get back in the boat.

Together.

Want in?

If you’re tired of being swept downstream…

If you’re tired of being lied to—by the culture, by the system, even by your own programming…

If you’re ready to rebuild trust and start rowing upstream…

Come into my world.

Go to awakenedwellnessllc.com and explore the ways to work with me—virtual options, local options, and my Taste of Transformation group coaching program.

This community is for people who are done pretending.
People who are ready for truth.
People who are ready to heal in a steady, supported way.

If that’s you…

Get in the boat.

Check out your options now

The full lenght video is in the private FB group and in the members area.

When your in a low place with your health you just need someone to believe in you. I Believe in YOU - Nurse Tanya