In this episode, I talk about the difference between self-abandonment (the pattern) and self-betrayal (the moment-by-moment choice that builds it) — and why understanding that difference matters more than most people realize.

We get into:

This isn't about always speaking up. It's about knowing the difference between a real choice and an old belief making the decision for you.

New episode is live — link in bio.

Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

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#selfabandonment #selfbetrayal #therapy #mentalhealth #relationships #differentiation #authenticity #innerchild #podcastepisode #healingjourney  

In this episode, I talk about the difference between adaptation and development,  why the traits that got labeled as problems in childhood (stubborn, dramatic, bossy, shy) were often never the problem at all. They just hadn't matured yet.

We go deep: reparenting, the functional adult, why insight alone doesn't change us, and why healing was never about becoming someone new, but about continuing to grow into who you already were.

New episode is live

  link in bio

https://healingpathsrecovery.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Helping-the-Authentic-Self-Mature.pdf

Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

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#therapy #reparenting #authenticself #innerchildwork #mentalhealthawareness #healingjourney #familytherapy #podcastepisode

And when those thousands of small moments are largely absent, something else develops in their place. Not a self. An adaptation. An identity organized around keeping the peace, managing moods, and becoming whoever the room needed you to be.

If you grew up wondering why you can't answer simple questions about yourself — what you want, what you like, what you feel,  this episode is for you.

Today I'm talking about what narcissistic neglect actually does to a developing child, why it so often comes from mothers and goes unrecognized, what develops instead of a healthy sense of self, and why the conversation you want to have with your parent rarely gives you what you're hoping for.

Development doesn't end in childhood. And healing isn't becoming someone different — it's finally uncovering the person who never had enough room to emerge. 

 Link in bio.

Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

https://thanksforsharingpodcast.my.canva.site/thanks-for-sharing-links

#narcissisticneglect #adultchildrenofnarcissists #attachmenthealing #emotionalneglect #narcissisticmother #therapy #selfhealing #childhoodtrauma #mentalhealth #innerchild

Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

https://thanksforsharingpodcast.my.canva.site/thanks-for-sharing-links

That question has been on my mind after two clients asked me to record this episode.

For some of us, touch meant comfort and safety.

For others, it meant obligation, manipulation, or even fear.

Some of us grew up in families that hugged all the time. Others rarely experienced physical affection. And sometimes, it wasn't the presence or absence of touch that mattered most—it was what that touch came to mean.

In this episode, I explore:

One of the ideas I keep coming back to is this:

Children don't just survive their families. They mistake their families for the whole world.

The good news is that our first map doesn't have to be our final one.

I'd love to hear from you:

What did touch teach you about relationships growing up?

 Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

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#Attachment #HealingJourney #TraumaRecovery #Relationships #EmotionalHealth #Therapy #MentalHealth #ChildhoodTrauma #Connection #Boundaries #PersonalGrowth #ThanksForSharingPodcast  

One of the biggest surprises in healing is that being healthier doesn't always feel better, at least not at first. The people around you have learned the old dance just as much as you have. So when you stop over-explaining, caretaking, shutting down, or apologizing for everything, the relationship often wobbles before it finds a new rhythm.

That doesn't mean you're doing it wrong.

It means the choreography is changing.

In this final episode of my four-part series, we explore:

One of the biggest lessons I've had to learn is this:

Being needed isn't the same as being loved.

Changing that belief didn't just change me; it changed the expectations inside some of my relationships. Growth doesn't happen in isolation. It happens one relationship at a time.

 Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch the full episode on YouTube.

 Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

That's because understanding a pattern and interrupting it are two different skills. And interrupting it and actually replacing it — building something to put in its place — that's a third skill entirely. That's what this episode is about.

The second response isn't a version of you that shows up once you've healed enough. It's a direction. Something small and specific and chosen, built from a value you actually hold, practiced in moments that don't matter so that it's available when they do.

Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

https://thanksforsharingpodcast.my.canva.site/thanks-for-sharing-links

 Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

That's not a character flaw. It's the difference between insight and integration, and they are not the same thing.

In this episode, I'm talking about why understanding your patterns doesn't automatically change them, what's actually happening in your nervous system when insight isn't enough, and the real mechanisms that create lasting change — including corrective experience, practicing in activated states, and why repair might be the most underestimated part of healing.

If you've ever thought "I know this stuff, so why do I keep doing it?" — this one's for you.

 [link in bio]

 Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

I said that in a men's group a few years ago — and the room went silent.

 Have a question or something you’d like me to talk about in a future episode?

You can call the show and leave a voicemail or send me an email — I love hearing from you, and your feedback helps shape these conversations. 

https://thanksforsharingpodcast.my.canva.site/thanks-for-sharing-links