Breathe: The Stress Less Podcast

The Cost of Being Too Strong: How the Father Wound Disconnects Us from Emotional Wellness #167


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Feeling emotionally exhausted from always being strong? In this episode, discover how the father wound leads to hyper-independence and disconnection from emotional wellness — and learn how soul care, science, and God’s love can help you heal and feel safe again.

 Description
Have you ever felt like you always have to be strong — even when your heart feels worn thin?

Many women carry the hidden weight of father wounds — growing up without the presence of a loving father, or with a dad who was emotionally unavailable. Over time, they learn to protect themselves by becoming hyper-independent, numbing the part of their heart that still longs to be nurtured, seen, and safe.

In this episode, you’ll learn how being “too strong” for too long can disconnect us from emotional wellness. Bonnie explains how father wounds often lead to hyper-independence, and how soul care helps restore trust, emotional safety, and the freedom to receive love again.

 Tune in to understand how hyper-independence develops as a trauma response and how it quietly impacts your ability to rest, feel connected, and be vulnerable. You’ll be guided through a breath prayer to reconnect with God’s nurturing presence, and take two practical soul care steps — rooted in scripture and science — to begin reparenting your heart and experiencing emotional wellness.

 Key Takeaways from Today’s Soul Care:
• Why the father wound often leads to numbness or emotional shutdown
• What science says about the nervous system and our need for safety
• How “being strong” can block us from receiving love
• Why soul care is a spiritual path to restoring vulnerability
• How to gently reparent your heart with God’s truth and tenderness

 Breath Prayer:
Inhale: He gathers the lambs in His arms
Exhale: and carries them close to His heart

 Scripture of the Week:
Isaiah 40:11 —
“He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.”

Isaiah 46:4 —
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
 Featured Resource: FREE Soul Care Quiz at https://soulcarequiz.com
 Get your free personal wellness assessment – and learn which type of soul care – emotional, physical, spiritual, or social — you need most.
 → Take the free quiz at https://soulcarequiz.com


 Connect with Bonnie:

 Bestselling Books by Bonnie:
https://amzn.to/3NpVYQd

 Join the Soul Care Newsletter:
https://thebonniegray.com/subscribe

 Watch Weekly YouTube Devotionals:
https://youtube.com/thebonniegray

 Follow Bonnie on Instagram & Facebook:
@thebonniegray

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

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Breathe: The Stress Less PodcastBy Bonnie Gray - Soul Care Coach and Author of Sweet Like Jasmine, Whispers of Rest, and Finding Spiritual Whitespace

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