Emotional Abuse Archives

Your Relationship with Yourself: Learning to Like (and Love) Who You Are Again

December 12, 2025

What if the most important relationship you’ll ever have isn’t the one with your ex, your pastor, or even your cat, but the one with yourself? (I know, scandalous.)

In this episode, I’m joined by three divorced Christian women, Barb, Diana, and Lisa, to unpack what it really looks like to reconnect with yourself after decades of religious programming and marital trauma.

Whether you’re eight days or eight years post-divorce, this episode is your permission slip to stop apologizing for existing and start building a fierce, compassionate relationship with the one person who will always be there: YOU.

The Art of Saying No: Setting Boundaries When You’ve Been Trained to Say Yes – Emotional Abuse 101 | Part 2 [Episode 357]

December 9, 2025

Have you ever been told that saying “no” makes you selfish? That good Christian women never rock the boat, always serve with a smile, and definitely do not have thoughts of their own?

This episode is Part 2 of our Emotional Abuse 101 series, and today we’re diving into the art of saying no.

If the idea of saying no makes your stomach flip or sends you into a guilt spiral, this episode is your lifeline. I’ll walk you through WHY it’s so hard to say no and HOW to start saying it anyway with confidence and without apology.

Building Healthier Relationships with Adult Children Post-Divorce

December 5, 2025

You’ve survived the marriage from Hades, signed the divorce papers, and maybe even had your ceremonial “burn the wedding dress” moment.

Your kids are grown, they have opinions (lots of them), and some of those opinions are… not in your favor. If you’re wondering how to rebuild, repair, or even just exist in relationship with your adult children post-divorce without losing your mind (or your will to live), this episode is your safe space.

I sit down with my friend and fellow coach, Diana Swillinger, for a conversation about the complex and often heart-wrenching work of parenting adult kids after divorce.

The 10 Most Subtle Signs of Emotional Abuse in a Christian Marriage – Emotional Abuse 101 | Part 1 [Episode 356]

December 2, 2025

Welcome to part one of a brand-new series I’m calling “Emotional Abuse 101: Everything You Need to Know,” because, let’s face it, the church didn’t exactly hand out “How to Spot a Narcissist in Your Youth Group” pamphlets in Sunday school.

In this episode, I’m diving into 10 most subtle signs of emotional abuse, the kind of signs that don’t leave bruises on your body but do leave bruises on your soul. These are the red flags that fly under the radar, the ones that make you ask “Am I too sensitive?” or “Maybe I am the problem?”

Raising Resilient Kids: Building Connections that Matter

November 28, 2025

Why do your kids act like little angels at their dad’s house and then transform into rabid raccoons the moment they step foot into your kitchen? No, it’s not because you’re failing as a mom (although that voice in your head might say otherwise).

It’s because YOU are the safe one.

In this episode, we unpack all of it: the chaos, the trauma, the meltdowns, and the sacred role you play in raising kids who actually make it out of this mess OK.

I sat down with Diana, Loretta, and Charlotte, three divorced Christian mamas who’ve done the hard work of parenting through PTSD, manipulation, religious confusion, and all the weird stuff your kids’ dad tries to pull post-divorce.

Do You Need Someone to Rescue You? [Episode 355]

November 25, 2025

In this episode, I get down and dirty with a topic that triggers all the rule-followers and religious gatekeepers: salvation. Not the flannelgraph-Jesus kind where you prayed the “magic words” at age seven and then spent the next 30 years terrified you did it wrong. Nope. I’m talking about real, liberating, soul-exploding salvation.

This one’s especially for you if you’ve ever stayed in an abusive marriage because you thought God would be mad if you left. If you’re exhausted from trying to please “godly” authority figures who think they are mini Popes. If you’ve prayed the salvation prayer 73 times just to be sure it “took.”

Category: Emotional Abuse