This Feels Familiar with Minaa B.

By Minaa B.Health & Fitness Mental Health Education Self-Improvement

This Feels Familiar with Minaa B. episodes

April 28 72: Sibling Codependency: When You Can't Function Apart
In this episode, Minaa B. explores sibling codependency—when closeness crosses into enmeshment and siblings can't function independently.
She defines what sibling codependency looks like, why it develops and gives special attention to twins who are often expected to be a single unit rather than two separate people. Minaa then breaks down the crucial distinction between codependency and healthy closeness, and offers strategies for separating while staying connected through healthy boundary differentiation, emphasizing that you can individuate and still maintain a meaningful sibling bond.

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27 min
April 21 71: Are You The Functional Eldest Child? How Parentification Impacted Middle & Younger Siblings
In this episode, Minaa B. challenges the narrative that only eldest daughters are parentified by giving voice to middle and younger children who were forced to become the "functional eldest" in their families.
She explores five key reasons why middle and younger children end up carrying adult responsibilities and how parentification fundamentally distorts sibling relationships by creating resentment.
She offers concrete strategies for navigating these damaged relationships and retiring from the parentified role as an adult.
Resources
Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
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36 min
April 14 70: How Parental Favoritism Impacted Your Sibling Relationships
In this episode, Minaa B. explores how parental favoritism fundamentally damages sibling relationships through the lens of The Siblinghood Theory.
She breaks down what favoritism actually looks like and examines the specific burdens carried by favored and unfavored children. She then explores how favoritism destroys the sibling bond and offers concrete strategies for working through favoritism with your sibling—from naming the dynamic to deciding when repair is possible versus when distance is healthier.

Resources
Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
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34 min
April 07 69: Why Siblings Drift Apart in Adulthood
In this episode, Minaa B. explores why siblings drift apart in adulthood—a question she's asked constantly as a therapist specializing in sibling relationships.
Drawing from research on sibling dynamics, she breaks down the complex factors that create distance: childhood closeness that was really just proximity, personality and temperament differences, the impact of mental illness and addiction, poor family cohesion, unresolved childhood conflict, and how life transitions pull siblings in different directions.
She also addresses the painful reality that some sibling alienation starts in childhood—long before adulthood makes it obvious. With compassion and clarity, Minaa offers practical strategies for navigating sibling distance, whether you want to rebuild connection or make peace with letting go.

Resources
Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

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29 min
March 3168: Stop Bringing Old Wounds Into New Relationships
In this episode, Minaa B. explores why it’s so easy to carry old relational wounds into new relationships—and how those unresolved patterns can quietly shape the way you connect, communicate, and respond to conflict.
If you’ve ever felt like your reactions in relationships are bigger than the moment, struggled to trust even when someone shows up consistently, or noticed yourself repeating the same patterns with different people, this episode is for you.
Using The Siblinghood Theory as a framework, Minaa breaks down how your earliest relational experiences influence your expectations of belonging, and how those patterns can show up in ways that sabotage connection.
This episode will help you:
Understand why past relationship experiences still affect you
Identify signs that old wounds are showing up in your current relationships

Recognize how these patterns impact trust, communication, and emotional safety

Learn practical ways to respond differently and build healthier connections
Because the goal isn’t to erase your past—it’s to understand when it’s shaping your present, so you can choose something different.

Resources

Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

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Facebook⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
24 min
March 2467:Dealing With Rejection While Dating
In this episode, Minaa B. breaks down why rejection while dating can feel so much deeper than it “should”—and why it often has less to do with the moment and more to do with your relational history.
If you’ve ever found yourself overanalyzing what went wrong, questioning your worth, or feeling like rejection hits harder than expected, this conversation will help you understand why.
Through the lens of belonging, conflict, and relational patterns, Minaa explores how rejection activates old wounds, what it reveals about your need for connection, and how your past experiences may be shaping your present reactions.
This episode will help you:
Understand why rejection feels so intense

Recognize the patterns it triggers

Stop internalizing rejection as a reflection of your worth

Navigate dating with more clarity and emotional grounding
Because rejection isn’t just about someone else’s decision—it’s about what that experience taps into within you.

Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

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30 min
March 17 66: Why Situationships Are So Hard to Leave
In this episode, Minaa B. explores the situationship you know you're in—not the confusing kind, but the one where you're fully aware it's not going anywhere, and you're stuck anyway.
With warmth and zero judgment, she breaks down why you stay even when you know better: the need for connection over loneliness, the fear of conflict and rupture, scarcity thinking around relationships, and the real emotional safety some situationships provide.
Minaa offers compassionate strategies for moving forward when you're ready—not shame tactics, but real understanding of what's keeping you there. If you're in a situationship and can't seem to leave, this episode is for you.

Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

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24 min
March 10 65: Loving Yourself Doesn't Stop You from Choosing the Wrong Person
In this episode, Minaa B. challenges the idea that self-love is enough to stop you from choosing the wrong person. She breaks down why relationship choices are driven by unconscious patterns, not just self-worth—exploring how your brain seeks familiarity over health, how early sibling and peer dynamics create blueprints for attraction, and how external pressure (the financial and social cost of being single) pushes people toward relationships that aren't right for them.
Minaa offers practical strategies for recognizing when you're repeating old patterns and for making different choices. If you've ever wondered why you keep choosing emotionally unavailable people despite doing all the work on yourself, this episode is for you.

Resources
Work with me:
Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

Stay Connected!
⁠Instagram
LinkedIn⁠
Facebook⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
20 min
March 03 64: Why You Can't Celebrate Your Friend's Success
In this episode, Minaa B. speaks directly to the friend who struggles with envy—the one whose chest tightens when someone shares good news, who can't quite bring themselves to celebrate a peer's success.
She explores how sibling dynamics and peer relationships taught us that success is limited, and why your friend's win can feel like your failure.
Minaa breaks down where envy comes from, why adult experiences reinforce scarcity thinking, and offers practical strategies for processing the feeling without letting shame ruin your friendships. If you've ever been the jealous friend and felt too ashamed to admit it, this episode is for you.
Resources

Work with me: Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

Stay Connected!
⁠Instagram
LinkedIn⁠
Facebook⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
32 min
February 24 63: Family Estrangement Isn't a Trend—It's Survival
In this episode, Minaa B. tackles the polarizing discourse around family estrangement—is it a trend or survival? She breaks down what estrangement really is, why people choose it, and what's missing from the social media conversation: the grief, the ambivalence, the cost, and the complexity that a 60-second video can't capture. Drawing on concepts like little t traumas and "death by a thousand paper cuts," Minaa explains how estrangement is rarely about one incident but rather years of unmet needs and unrepaired harm. If the online discourse has left you confused about whether cutting off family is brave or giving up, this episode brings the nuance that's been missing.

Work with me
Book a 1:1 therapy consultation.

Resources
Website: minaab.com
Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here
Order my book: Owning Our Struggles⁠⁠⁠

Stay Connected!
⁠Instagram
LinkedIn⁠
Facebook⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 min

About This Feels Familiar with Minaa B.

From the publisher's feed

Do you ever have that weird feeling that says, "I've been in this situation before?" The same conflict. The same feeling that no matter what you do, the pattern repeats. That familiar feeling isn't a coincidence–it's a pattern. And This Feels Familiar can help you change it.