Hello, this week I'm talking about the mental cage we have in our minds. It's that thing that stops us from being our best selves, our true selves, from honoring the voice that was once there and was slowly eroded by the programming of toxic relationships, specifically those where coercive control and manipulation are at play.

One consistent pattern I've seen with myself and fellow survivors of emotional, financial, mental, or sexual and physical abuse. You finally get out of one of these relationships, and you're like, oh, I'm free!

But you quickly realize you're NOT FREE because this experience built a cage in your mind through years of abuse, manipulation, and coercive control.

In this episode, I share about an interview that lit a fire within me and helped me see this pattern and a way out that can help many of us over the long term.

It's not a quick fix, and it's all about incremental change. Those 1% tweaks in our behavior trigger shifts in how we frame our lives. They're catalysts for more profound change, allowing us to create a new story and identity, breaking through the well-worn programming we may not even be aware of.

I'm speaking from the heart here, addressing many challenges in my life right now and doing my best to reframe all of it and move forward each day vs. seeing what didn't get done. We're so hard on ourselves even in a crisis, and it's destructive. But we can turn it around and create a new way of life.

Mentioned in this episode

Atomic Habits by James Cleary (the book on Amazon) https://amzn.to/3UR5nAZ

Atomic Habits by James Cleary (the book on Audible) https://amzn.to/3FkHfRA

Ed Mylett's interview with James Cleary (on YouTube) https://youtu.be/Kz0pNyS0plk

Read Coercive control: Harms to children | Coercive control in children's and mother's lives | Oxford Academic https://bit.ly/cc-harm

Domestic Violence Hotline in the US 800-799-7233 SMS: Text START to 88788 https://www.thehotline.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=domestic_violence

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Hop on the early signup list! https://bit.ly/blessedguest Sending lots of Love and peace your way!! Thanks for listening!! Steph xoxo!!