Welcome back to Healing Our Relationships. I'm Marisa, Healer & Transformation Guide. Love avoidance often gets mistaken for independence, but in truth, it's another face of codependency — a strategy to control connection and protect ourselves from pain. In this episode, I'm unpacking three core beliefs that keep love-avoidant patterns alive: I can't trust anyone, If I don't get close, I can't get hurt, and I am not worthy of love.

We'll explore how these beliefs form — often from early abandonment, betrayal, or a deep mistrust of others — and how they quietly dictate the way we choose partners, keep people at arm's length, or test whether they'll chase us. I'll share why walling off isn't the safety net we think it is, but a self-imposed cage that limits intimacy, joy, and real connection.

This conversation is about awareness, compassion, and the courage to take contrary action: to open the gates, to allow closeness without giving up yourself, and to risk being loved for who you truly are. You'll leave with reflection questions and practices to help you step out from behind the walls and into relationships that feel safe because you are safe inside yourself.

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