Is a relationship without any conflict healthy 🤔? How do you have conflict without fighting? And how do you get past your fear of using your damn voice in the first place?!

Athena McCullough LMFT walks us through her own evolution of being shut off from her emotions and conflict avoidant like “an appliance that just plugged in and ran,” to a woman with a voice, opinions, and a distress tolerance wide enough to share them all with her partner. We talk about how to bring up conflict (step by step) in relationships, and especially what to do to stay grounded and sane during a high conflict divorce.

Listen for:

✨ Why rupture without repair is so damaging in relationships

✨ The trap of spending time in the perfectionistic analytical brain during your healing journey

✨ How to have healthy conflict with your partner (step by step) instead of running away, shutting down, or raging

✨ Signs that someone isn’t ready for an intimate relationship

✨ Skills to help you keep your cool if you’re in a high conflict divorce

MENTIONED:

https://www.mcculloughfamilytherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

IG: @mccullough_familytherapy

RESOURCES FOR YOUR HEALING:

🌻 ⁠Schedule your free Intro Session: https://tinyurl.com/freeintroseshpod

❤️ For more resources on healing from the mindf*ck of confusing relationships so you can securely attach + experience healthy love: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.brewolta.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

🫶🏻 Trust Yourself More Than His Potential (3 Simple Practices To Guarantee You Don't Go Back): https://tinyurl.com/trustyourselfmore-pod

🫶🏻 Get the free 3 WAYS TO RECOGNIZE LOVE BOMBING GUIDE to spot love bombing and walk away from the red flags early: https://tinyurl.com/lovebombguide-htwshownotes

🫶🏻 ⁠Get the free RELATIONSHIP RESET GUIDE⁠: https://tinyurl.com/rrg-htwshownotes

• Learn how to communicate your feelings (without feeling guilty)
• Navigate triggering moments without shutting down
• Feel secure on your own so you aren’t jumping into the wrong relationship
• Expand your capacity to hold next-level love while remaining true to you

🫶🏻 FIND YOURSELF AGAIN Self-guided course to help you rediscover your needs and identity after years of focusing on others first

• https://tinyurl.com/fya-htwshownotes (Use PODCAST10 at checkout for 10% off)

In this gripping podcast, listeners explore the complex dynamics of toxic relationships, unpacking themes like narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, cognitive dissonance, and emotional manipulation, while delving into how empathy, attachment styles, and people pleasing behaviors contribute to codependency, trauma bonding, and emotional abuse. The host and guests share real stories of betrayal, guilt, and heartbreak—all while guiding survivors through letting go of an ex, identifying red flags, reclaiming self worth and confidence, establishing boundaries, and rebuilding emotional safety after love bombing, manipulation, self doubt, and deep-rooted trauma.