When we're enmeshed with a parent we might feel responsible for taking care of them emotionally, and guilty if we don't do what they expect of us.

And while enmeshment is often uncomfortable, it may also come with feeling special and can be very challenging to recognize and overcome.

In this episode, Jodi talks with Dr. Kenneth Adams, therapist and author of "When He's Married to Mom", about mother-enmeshed men: What is childhood like for them? What are their adult relationships like? And how to recover from enmeshment and have functional adult relationships (with both partners and parents).

Music by JD Pendley

Are you familiar with the concept of assigned family roles--roles assigned in childhood that are either falsely empowering or disempowering? Maybe you've heard of The Hero, The Lost Child, or The Scapegoat? But what does all of this mean?

In this episode, Jodi discusses The Hero and Lost Child, and how these roles contribute to love avoidance or addiction. And she talks with London-based coach, Mary Toolan, regarding the role known as the toxic family's dustbin: The Scapegoat.

Music by JD Pendley

In love addiction recovery, we focus a lot on developmental trauma and what took place in our family of origin (because looking at our history is important). But there's something else that plays a role in love addiction: Cultural messaging.

In this episode, Jodi's friend, Brooke, joins her to talk about the recent Victoria's Secret documentary; and how the company's marketing in the early 2000s led to confusing messages about beauty, and furthered the cultural double bind women experience.

Jodi and Brooke also share personal experiences about sexual harassment, body insecurity, and how uncomfortable it is to talk about 'this stuff'.

Music by JD Pendley

There are books and podcasts about love addiction, and people talk on social media about it--but there aren't many movies that address the topic...

That's why Charlene deGuzman's film, Unlovable, is so unique: She not only tells her story, but she calls love addiction what it is.

In this episode Jodi talks with Charlene about her personal experience with love addiction and recovery, as well as what she's learned about herself and how recovery has changed her life.

Music by JD Pendley

We hear a lot about "having boundaries" or "setting boundaries" or "respecting boundaries"....but what does any of this really mean?

To answer this question, Jodi invited trauma therapist and boundaries expert, Jules Taylor Shore, to talk all about boundaries. Jules takes this complex topic and explains it in a user-friendly way, so we can better understand ourselves and others.

Music by JD Pendley

Love addiction gets messy. It's full of intensity, shame, and regression that leads us to behave regretfully--or as Jodi says, 'like a tornado of sticks and poo'.

In this episode, Jodi celebrates six years in recovery by revisiting Pia Mellody's symptoms of love addiction; and by providing examples of how these symptoms looked for her during nearly three decades of addicted relationships.

Music by JD Pendley

What does it mean to 'feel stuck'? And, what exactly IS a feeling, anyway?

In this episode, Jodi talks with Britt Frank--therapist and author of "The Science of Stuck: Breaking Through Inertia to Find Your Path Forward"--about the definition of stuck; the difference between feelings, emotions, and thoughts; fantasy and fairy tales.

Britt also shares her experience with addiction and recovery, as well as her thoughts on what keeps us stuck in our love addiction.

Music by JD Pendley

If you listen to the podcast you've likely heard Jodi talk about Mother Hunger and the role it plays in love addiciton.

But there's an extreme form of this attachment injury: Third Degree Mother Hunger--which happens when a daughter grows-up frightened of her mother.

For this episode, Jodi invited fellow Mother Hunger facilitator and therapist, Jennifer Acker, to share her personal Third Degree Mother Hunger story.

Music by JD Pendley

We might think we know the meaning of the term "betrayal", but what actually happens when we're truly betrayed by the person closest to us?

In this episode, Jodi talks with therapist and betrayal trauma expert, Michelle Mays, about the complexity of this relational trauma, as well as recovery resources. Jodi also discusses her new awareness of the role that betrayal played in her love addiction.

Music by JD Pendley

We all have a story to tell, and when it comes to love addiction our stories are as unique as they are similar. It's as if love addiction comes with a script and how it plays out depends upon who's directing.

In this episode, Jodi is joined by Kelly Henderson of the podcast, Velvet's Edge, to share her personal experience with love addiction and recovery--and they realize their stories are very similar.

Music by JD Pendley