🎙️ Episode 25 -DARVO in Real Life: Rebuilding from the Rubble

July Spotlight – Mental Health & Entrepreneurship

Host: Tina White, The Trigger and The Truth

🎧Part 3 of 4: “Boundaries, Business, and Becoming Whole Again"Overview:

"Welcome back to The Trigger and The Truth. I’m Tina White, and this is Part 3 of our July Spotlight: DARVO in Real Life.

The betrayal happened. The lies spread. The isolation set in. And then... life kept moving.

But how do you rebuild a life—and a business—from the ruins of what someone else tried to destroy?

Today, we talk about the slow, painful, necessary work of starting over."

PART 1: HITTING ROCK BOTTOM SILENTLY"See, nobody talks about what happens after the betrayal loses its headlines.When the gossip dies down but the pain remains.When the business invoices stop coming in but the bills still do.I hit a wall.My energy was gone. My passion for my business faded. And honestly? I didn’t trust myself anymore.That’s what DARVO steals first—your clarity.I was showing up to work like a robot, but inside I was shut down."
PART 2: THE DECISION TO GO BACK TO THERAPY"One morning, I woke up and said, ‘If I don’t deal with this, it’s going to deal with me.’I went back to therapy—not because I was weak, but because I was tired of carrying a story that wasn’t mine to carry.Therapy wasn’t about forgetting what happened.It was about finding language for the confusion.It taught me to stop making excuses for people’s silence.To stop waiting for my abuser to fix what they broke.And most of all—to build a life that no longer depended on their acknowledgment."PART 3: REBUILDING THE BUSINESS FROM A PLACE OF HEALING"Rebuilding my business wasn’t just about new clients.It was about new boundaries.I started protecting my peace like my paycheck depended on it—because it did.I let go of draining partnerships.I created systems to prevent burnout.I stopped saying yes out of guilt.And little by little, the business started coming back.But this time, the business was built from clarity, not chaos."PART 4: REDEFINING SUCCESS AFTER TRAUMA"I used to think success was about grinding until you made it.Now I know it’s about being whole while you build.I don’t want a six-figure business if it costs me my peace.I don’t want public applause if it comes with private breakdowns.Healing taught me to redefine what winning looks like.Sometimes success is the quiet moment when you realize:I’m not broken anymore. I’m rebuilding."PART 5: WHAT I LEARNED (AND UNLEARNED)

Lessons learned in the rubble:

• Stop waiting for people to fix what they refuse to admit they broke.
• Boundaries aren’t walls—they’re doors that only open for peace.
• You can rebuild your business stronger after betrayal—but you have to rebuild yourself first.

What I unlearned:

• The need for validation from people who benefited from your silence.
• The belief that grinding harder would make the pain disappear.
• The guilt of outgrowing the people who hurt you.

PART 6: UPLIFTING TAKEAWAY – YOU CAN REBUILD TOO"This story isn’t special because I survived.It’s special because I decided to rebuild.And so can you.Whether you’re picking up the pieces of your business, your family, your mental health—Start small.Start scared.But start.Because what you build next will be stronger than what they tried to destroy."

"If you’re in the rebuilding season, stay tuned. Next week, we close this series with the final episode: The Power of Truth—where we’ll talk about reclaiming your story and leading from your scars, not your wounds.

Until then—protect your peace, build from clarity, and give yourself permission to start over."