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You didn’t outgrow the drama. You outgrew the discomfort — and now your life reflects it.

If protecting yourself keeps costing you people, that’s not self-respect.

In this episode, I examine how self-protection can quietly turn into relational withdrawal — not through dramatic exits, but through small, repeated acts of disengagement.

Avoidance rarely announces itself. It disguises itself as maturity. As boundaries. As emotional intelligence. As “protecting your peace.” And in the moment, it works. Your nervous system settles. The tension drops. Relief arrives.

But nothing replaces what you stepped away from.

I’m talking about the unanswered text. The conversation you let die. The misunderstanding you didn’t correct. The moment you told yourself it wasn’t worth the energy. Over time, those small decisions accumulate — and your world gets smaller. Fewer invitations. Fewer conversations that matter. Fewer moments where you feel known.

Not because people rejected you. Because opting out became your most practiced skill.

In this episode, I break down:

The difference between regulation and avoidance

How short-term relief creates long-term disconnection

Why discomfort is not the same as danger

What staying present actually requires

This isn’t about abandoning boundaries. It’s about asking whether “peace” has quietly become isolation.

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounsleing.com

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

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X:@DrDarcySterling   

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Estrangement can bring peace and still leave a mark — this episode names what doesn’t disappear after no contact, even when the decision was necessary and right.

In this episode we examine the psychological impact of family estrangement and the hidden emotional cost of going no contact. While estrangement often brings immediate relief—reducing conflict, stress, and daily friction—relief is not the same as closure. Attachment bonds do not automatically dissolve when contact ends, and unresolved dynamics can remain psychologically active long after the decision is made.

Joined by Dr. Joshua Coleman, this episode explores the tension many people experience after estrangement: feeling certain about the choice while still carrying complex or unfinished emotions. Rather than debating whether estrangement is right or wrong, the conversation focuses on what happens internally once a relationship is severed.

In this episode, we explore:

Why no contact does not guarantee emotional resolution

The role of ambiguous loss in family estrangement

How attachment bonds persist after physical separation

The long-term impact of parent–adult child estrangement

The difference between boundaries and emotional avoidance

This episode offers a clinically grounded look at estrangement, attachment, and the work required for true emotional integration.

Xxoo Darcy

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties & How to Heal the Conflict

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

Twitter:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

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This episode is about the small moments when you decide not to say what you actually feel. The sentence you soften, the need you interrupt, the truth you edit to keep things smooth. And how, over time, those reasonable choices create distance inside a relationship that still technically works.

Being partnered is often used as evidence that loneliness shouldn’t exist.

In this episode, I talk about why that assumption keeps people stuck — and how loneliness can show up even inside a relationship that looks stable, consistent, and intact.

I break down how emotional isolation is often created not by absence, but by a series of small, reasonable-seeming choices: staying agreeable instead of specific, staying regulated instead of exposed, and prioritizing stability over honesty. Over time, those choices quietly disconnect people from themselves and from each other.

This episode looks at the difference between restraint and avoidance, why swallowing your truth can feel like maturity, and how loneliness often appears immediately after you choose not to say what actually mattered.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why loneliness can exist inside a relationship, not just outside of one.

How prioritizing peace, stability, and being “reasonable” can slowly erode emotional presence.

The moment where loneliness actually begins — and why it’s easy to miss.

If you’ve ever felt alone while technically being with someone, this episode explains what’s happening underneath — and why that feeling isn’t random.

Xxoo Darcy

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

X:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube.

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This episode is about why insight creates clarity but not change — and what actually has to happen for your brain to stop knowing better and start doing better.

Most people can explain their patterns. They know their attachment style, their triggers, their history, and why they react the way they do. In this episode, I look at why all of that insight so often fails to produce real change — and why understanding yourself can feel productive while keeping you stuck.

I break down the difference between insight and evidence, why the brain doesn’t update from awareness alone, and how real change actually happens: through doing something different first, and letting your nervous system learn from what follows.

I’m joined by Emma McAdam, who has helped millions of people make sense of their emotional world, to talk about what happens after insight — the part where most people stop — and what it really takes to move from knowing better to doing better.

We talk about why people repeat the same reactions even when they know they don’t work, how “later” becomes a way of never changing, and why the feeling people are waiting for doesn’t come from thinking — it comes from acting.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why insight and self-understanding don’t automatically lead to behavior change.

How the brain actually updates through evidence created by new actions.

What it takes to move from analyzing your patterns to doing something different in real time.

If you’ve ever felt like you understand yourself but keep repeating the same reactions, the same conflicts, and the same outcomes, this episode explains what’s missing between knowing and changing.

Xxoo Darcy

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

www.therapyinanutshell.com

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

X:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube. 

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When mental-health language becomes content, it can start teaching us how to leave discomfort elegantly instead of how to stay long enough to actually change.

Most of us assume that consuming mental health content is making us more emotionally intelligent. In this episode, I look at a different possibility: that the way platforms reward and distribute this content may be teaching us how to avoid discomfort more elegantly, not how to stay in it long enough to grow or repair.

I break down how algorithms shape what kinds of emotional messages spread, why content that encourages exit and self-protection travels farther than content that asks for accountability, and what happens when therapy language becomes optimized for performance, shares, and watch time.

I’m joined by Kati Morton, a licensed therapist and one of the largest mental health creators on YouTube, to talk about what happens not just to audiences, but to mental health itself, when therapeutic ideas become content at scale.

We talk about how emotional vocabulary shifts from being a tool for repair to a tool for image management, why discomfort is increasingly framed as toxicity, and what that means for relationships, responsibility, and emotional development.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How social media algorithms shape which mental health messages spread and which ones disappear.

Why viral therapy content often teaches emotional exit instead of emotional endurance.

What it means for relationships and accountability when therapeutic language becomes optimized for performance.

If you consume a lot of mental health content and have ever wondered why it sometimes makes things feel easier but not actually better, this episode explains the tension underneath.

Xxoo Darcy

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

www.KatiMorton.com 

Why Do I Keep Doing This?: Unlearn the Habits Keeping You Stuck and Unhappy

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

X:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube. 

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Before sadness, guilt, or hurt can register, accountability lands—and therapy language rushes in to protect how we see ourselves instead of staying in the relationship.

We like to think emotional language makes relationships safer. In this episode, I examine how words like boundaries, triggered, and protecting my peace are often used to avoid accountability without looking like avoidance.

I break down how conflict quietly gets reframed from “what happened between us” to “how you made me feel by bringing this up,” how this shift changes the power dynamic in a relationship, and why it trains partners to stop telling the truth over time.

This pattern doesn’t usually end relationships through big fights. It erodes them through silence, hesitation, and conversations that never happen — until distance becomes the default.

This episode looks at what “staying” actually means in real conflict: not performing calm, not using language to exit, but remaining present long enough to hear impact instead of protecting your position.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How emotional and therapy language can function as an avoidance strategy in conflict

• Why choosing “peace” over repair slowly drains intimacy from relationships

• What it practically means to stay in a hard conversation instead of exiting it
  If you’ve ever felt like your relationship is calm but distant, or like hard conversations keep disappearing instead of getting resolved, this episode explains the pattern underneath.

Xxoo Darcy

Listener Subscription

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

X:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube. 

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In the season opener of We Need To Talk, I sit down with bestselling therapist and founder of Relational Life Therapy, Terry Real, to expose the part of you that’s actually running your relationships. We talk about the “younger part” that learned to survive in your family, how it hijacks your adult brain in conflict, and what it takes to get your wise adult back online when all you want to do is fight, flee, or fix. Terry doesn’t just explain the model—he uses me and my marriage as the live example. If your relationships keep looping the same arguments, this episode is the map.

Xxoo Darcy

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

Terryreal.com

Relationallife.com

www.instagram.com/realterryreal/

Us: Getting Past You & Me to Build a More Loving Relationship 

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Robyn Jaenchen. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

X:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube. 

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Season 3

Before we get into this, I want to name why this episode exists.

A while back, I interviewed

Molly Roden Winter about her book More. It became one of the most listened-to episodes of this show. Not because it was shocking—but because it challenged something people quietly assume they’re not allowed to question.

While I was reading the book, I kept thinking about one thing: I want to hear this from the other side.

This episode is that conversation.

This is me talking with Stewart Winter, Molly’s husband, about what it’s actually like to live inside a relationship that refuses to default to the script. Not theoretically. Not philosophically. Practically.

We talk about intensity. About choosing a partner who doesn’t make you comfortable—but makes you honest. About the difference between expanding a relationship and escaping one. And about how people use concepts like “open-mindedness” to avoid reckoning with their own limits.

This isn’t an episode about monogamy versus non-monogamy.

It’s about what happens when you stop outsourcing your choices to culture—and start owning the consequences of the life you build.

Listen carefully. Because the real question underneath all of this isn’t what kind of relationship do you want.

It’s whether you’re willing to tolerate the version of yourself that your relationship requires.

A couple of months ago, I interviewed New York Times bestselling author, Molly Roden Winter. Her book, “More: A Memoir of Open Marriage” documents her journey as a Brooklyn Mom who ventures into the world of polyamory, as she opens her marriage. 

My interview with her sparked such a buzz from listeners — more than any other episode of WNTT. It’s linked below if you haven’t listened.  

I just re-read her book while I was on a vacation and I have to tell you, about every 50 pages I found myself taken aback by how well her husband Stewart navigated their experience. He was repeatedly in situations where there were five wrong ways of responding to things, and in my opinion, he consistently landed on the right one. 

Was he lucky? Or has he actually been taught relationship skills? 

Those were the answers I wanted, so I invited him to join me.

Stewart Winter did not disappoint.

CREDITS

This episode of “We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” was produced by Darcy Sterling. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani, Stephanie Sterling and Preston Smith. “We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. 

Link to Molly’s book: More: A Memoir of Open Marriage

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

Twitter:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube. 

Before we get into today’s episode, I want to take a moment to reintroduce one of the most important conversations I’ve ever had on this show.

This episode — Rethinking Monogamy — is the most downloaded episode of We Need to Talk.

I recorded this early in the life of the podcast, and it still holds up because it doesn’t argue for or against monogamy. It looks closely at why so many people struggle inside the relationship model they’re told is the only legitimate option.

Whether or not monogamy is right for you isn’t the point.

The point is understanding why so many people stay in relationships that look right, but don’t actually feel right — and what it costs when we never question that gap.

If this is your first time hearing it, you’re about to listen to a thoughtful, grounded conversation that’s just as relevant now as it was then.

And if you’ve listened before, it’s worth hearing again with fresh ears.

In the west, monogamy is our default relationship model. But, to be clear, monogamy is a social construct. It is not inherent to our biology. 

That’s an important fact to keep in mind throughout today’s conversation with New York Times Best Selling author, Molly Roden Winter, whose recent book “More: A Memoir of Open Marriage,” documents her journey through non-monogamy. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• Why humans adopted monogamy as our dominant relationship construct (the answer is grim).

• The surprising response she got from her therapist about opening up her marriage. 

•  Her advice on how to initiate a conversation with your partner about non-monogamy, should you be inclined. 

Xxoo

Darcy

REFERENCES

www.alternativescounseling.com

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm

Kim, J. H., Tam, W. S., & Muennig, P. (2017). Sociodemographic Correlates of Sexlessness Among American Adults and Associations with Self-Reported Happiness Levels: Evidence from the U.S. General Social Survey. Archives of sexual behavior, 46(8), 2403–2415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-0968-7

Lei, L., & South, S. J. (2021). Explaining the decline in young adult sexual activity in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family, 83(1), 280-295.

Solomon NG, Ophir AG. Editorial: What's Love Got to Do With It: The Evolution of Monogamy. Front Ecol Evol. 2020 Apr;8:110. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00110. Epub 2020 Apr 28. PMID: 32782899; PMCID: PMC7416880.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-monogamy-has-deep-roots/

More: A Memoir of Open Marriage by Molly Roden Winter

Substack: mollyrodenwinter.com

CREDITS

This episode of “We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” was produced by Darcy Sterling, with editorial support from Vicki Vergolina. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani, Stephanie Sterling and Preston Smith. “We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. 

DISCLAIMER

Instagram:@drdarcysterling 

Facebook:Dr.Darcy Sterling

Tik Tok:@doctordarcysterling  

X:@DrDarcySterling   

YouTube:@DarcySterling   

Threads:@drdarcysterling

Watch this episode here on YouTube.