Today’s episode we are talking about things that don’t really matter when choosing a partner. We get a lot of input on what our relationships should and should not have. There can be alotof requirements we put on who we choose. But today I am talking about some of the things we get hung up on that might not truly matter in the long run.

In this episode of the Relationship Anxiety Podcast, your host, McKell Kristen, talks about anxiety around becoming a mom.

With so many women experiencing similar fears and concerns, today’s discussion dives into how anxiety can resurface in new ways as we approach parenthood. 

Here’s more of what you can expect in this episode:

✨ A touching client story about facing anxiety around motherhood

✨ McKell’s own experience with fears about loving her child and navigating birth expectations

✨ Insights into how transitions, like becoming a parent, can amplify anxiety

✨ The parallels between relationship anxiety and fears about parenting

✨ Comforting reflections on the beauty and growth that come from motherhood

✨ The value of witnessing your child’s life and how that transforms your experience of love

✨ How learning emotional management skills can better prepare you for parenting

✨ Encouragement to trust that your journey has equipped you for motherhood

✨ The reminder that you don’t need to have it all figured out before becoming a parent

✨ A beautiful perspective on unconditional love and the interconnectedness of family

Tune in and learn how to face your fears, deepen your love, and confidently embrace this next chapter of your life.

Worry about what your family thinks about your relationship? Perhaps you find yourself craving approval from your parents and siblings. Or maybe you avoid interacting with family cause you are scared of critical comments. Today’s we are talking about how to access a confidence and trust in your relationship that thrives independent of what your family thinks.

In this episode of the Relationship Anxiety Podcast, McKell Kristen is answering your relationship anxiety questions. 

She talks through questions like...

✨ How to get out of the mental loop of anxiety
✨ Navigating RA when moving in together
✨ Relationship anxiety vs. true feelings
✨ How to handle anxiety that correlates with your cycle
✨ How to navigate anxiety during engagement

Tune in to learn new perspectives on these questions and more when it comes to relationship anxiety. 

Welcome to the Relationship Anxiety Podcast! I'm your host, McKell Kristen, and today we're diving into understanding conflicting sides of yourself. Have you ever had a moment where you thought, "I just wish I could know if it’s right for me to stay?" Or maybe, "I just wish that voice telling me to leave would go away?" If so, you're not alone, and this episode is for you.

In this episode, we’ll discuss:

✨ Why battling between staying and leaving can lead to internal chaos.

✨ How the avoidantly attached and anxiously attached parts of you fuel relationship anxiety.

✨ The way resisting one side creates more tension.

✨ The importance of acknowledging and understanding both sides.

✨ How internal conflict mirrors arguments between people.

✨ Steps to create more peace by accepting and understanding conflicting parts of yourself. ✨ The role of the core essence of you, which feels safe and steady no matter the outcome. ✨ Signs of healing, like reducing the pressure on decisions about your relationship.

✨ The deeper fears that drive the side of you that wants to stay, like fear of abandonment or feeling unworthy.

✨ The fears driving the side of you that wants to leave, like a need for freedom or fear of being hurt.

Don't miss this opportunity to start finding peace within yourself! Listen now, and take a step toward greater self-understanding and compassion.

In this episode of The Relationship Anxiety Podcast, your host, McKell Kristen, takes you on a journey to understanding how to handle your partner's bad mood. We discuss the struggles of feeling uncomfortable when your partner isn't as happy or positive as you'd like them to be.

Here’s more of what you can expect in this episode:

✨ Insights on why we feel triggered when our partner is in a bad mood

✨ The impact of childhood experiences on our emotional reactions

✨ Techniques for mastering nervous system regulation

✨ The importance of holding loving space for our partner’s emotions

✨ How to resist the urge to “fix” or solve for your partner

✨ Tips on trusting and respecting your partner’s emotional process

✨ The role of boundary-setting in maintaining emotional balance

✨ Strategies for supporting your partner from a place of love

✨ The art of empathizing without taking on their emotional burden

✨ Encouragement to witness your partner’s growth, rather than forcing change

Don't miss out on this chance to transform the way you navigate your partner’s bad moods and create a healthier emotional dynamic. Listen now and discover how to turn inward and trust your partner’s journey.

In this episode of the Relationship Anxiety Podcast, your host McKell Kristen explores the belief that "marriage is hard." This idea, though common, plays a significant role in how we approach relationships and can often exacerbate feelings of relationship anxiety.

Here’s more of what you can expect in this episode:

✨ The influence of societal and cultural beliefs on our view of marriage

✨ How we internalize opinions from social media and people around us

✨ The subjective nature of labeling experiences as “hard” or “easy”

✨ Examples of how our stories and beliefs shape our relationship dynamics

✨ The power of choosing our interpretations mindfully

✨ The importance of effective communication in relationships

✨ How differing perspectives can actually strengthen a relationship

✨ Emotional baggage and how it influences our view of relationships

✨ Understanding that relationships bring up unresolved emotions

✨ Ways to reframe challenges as opportunities for growth and connection

Don't miss out on this chance to rethink how you perceive relationships and choose empowering beliefs. 

In this episode of the Relationship Anxiety Podcast, your host McKell Kristen takes you on a journey to explore the topic of resistance and anxiety. This episode focuses on how resistance to thoughts, feelings, and future outcomes fuels anxiety, and how embracing discomfort can lead to greater peace.

McKell dives into:

✨ Understanding how trying to control and resist uncomfortable feelings creates anxiety

✨ The importance of learning to tolerate and allow thoughts and emotions rather than resist them

✨ How resistance can show up in relationships, including resisting feelings like disappointment

✨ Shifting from a need to resist and control outcomes to allowing space for emotions like sadness, anger, or joy

✨ Recognizing that suffering often stems from fighting against what is, rather than from the uncomfortable feelings themselves

✨ How to stop trying to fix anxiety by hurrying through relationship milestones or breakups

✨ The difference between reacting to and resisting emotions versus learning to process them without fear

✨ How dropping resistance opens up a world of emotional richness, moving beyond black-and-white thinking in relationships

✨ Practical steps to soften resistance, allowing yourself to experience thoughts and emotions with more peace

✨ The invitation to love and accept yourself and your partner, even with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings present

Don't miss out on this chance to learn how to reduce anxiety by better understanding resistance. 

In this episode of the Relationship Anxiety Podcast, your host McKell Kristen takes you on a journey to explore the question: "What if I'm not really in love?"

This episode is perfect for those struggling with doubts about love and wondering whether their feelings for their partner are genuine.

Here’s more of what you can expect in this episode:

✨ How our mind can fall into obsessive thinking, constantly seeking to answer anxious questions

✨ The disconnect from emotional and physical sensations caused by overanalyzing relationships

✨ Why expectations around love, shaped by media and upbringing, may not match reality

✨ How past experiences and patterns from childhood can influence how we perceive love in relationships

✨ Why love isn’t always about the "high" but also about embracing uncomfortable emotions

✨ The difference between a victim mindset (passive thinking about love) and a creator mindset (actively choosing and creating love)

✨ The importance of letting go of the idea that love is something you "fall into" and recognizing your role in building it

✨ The humility of recognizing that our ability to love is imperfect and how that’s part of being human

Listen now and discover how to move beyond anxiety and embrace a more intentional, loving approach to your relationship.

In this episode of the Relationship Anxiety Podcast, your host McKell Kristen explores the question "Should I share about my anxiety with my partner?" This episode is perfect for those grappling with when and how to share about anxiety or other concerns in a relationship.

McKell dives into the complexities of sharing, discussing:

✨ How problem-solving mode can lead to anxiety-fueled conversations

✨ The importance of grounding yourself before rushing to talk

✨ Tips on navigating the extremes of oversharing or withholding

✨ The role of vulnerability in deepening connection

✨ How to release urgency and ground yourself before conversations

✨ Recognizing when fear or shame is driving your decision to share

✨ A reminder that it’s okay for your partner to have emotions too

✨ The importance of authenticity and letting your partner in

✨ Why sharing from a place of vulnerability builds deeper trust

✨ Giving yourself permission to be imperfect in your communication

Don’t miss out on this chance to learn how to navigate sharing in your relationship with intention. Listen now and gain insights to help you create more meaningful and connected conversations with your partner.