Do you feel intense guilt after pulling back from a relationship with your mother, even when you know the relationship is harmful? You’re not imagining it, and you’re not doing anything wrong.

In this episode of The Mother Wound Project Podcast, we dive deep into why guilt shows up when daughters of emotionally immature or narcissistic mothers begin reducing contact. We explore how internalized obligation, family pressure, flying monkeys, and societal conditioning keep women trapped in abusive dynamics, and why guilt, while normal, cannot be where you stay if you want to heal.

You’ll learn why stepping back often causes your mother’s behavior to escalate, how family members are pulled in to pressure you back into compliance, and why you cannot heal in the same environment that harmed you. This episode validates the guilt while naming the hard truth: unprocessed guilt keeps women stuck in pain, obligation, and self-betrayal.

If you’ve struggled with guilt, anxiety, rumination, or fear after setting boundaries or reducing contact, this episode will help you understand what’s really happening—and why choosing yourself is not selfish.

Support Your Healing:

• Mother Wound Survival Kit – A powerful starting point with nervous system tools and support to help you hold boundaries without collapsing into guilthttps://course.themotherwoundproject.com/motherwoundsurvivalkit
• 1:1 Hypnotherapy & Coaching – Deep, personalized work to rewire guilt, people-pleasing, fawning, and childhood conditioning at the roothttps://themotherwoundproject.com/one-on-one-sessions/

You’re not wrong for stepping back. You’re choosing healing.