(Scroll down for resources, including a link to a free downloadable resource.)

So many of our deepest anxieties come not from circumstances—but from people we love. Broken trust. Emotional betrayal. Confusing mixed signals. Fear of being hurt again. In this episode, Jennifer Slattery talks with Matthew and Joanna Rapsmith and therapist Dan Drake about why relational wounds cut so deeply, how they affect our nervous system and emotional health, and how God compassionately leads us toward healing, safety, and renewed connection.

Whether you’re trying to heal a relationship, rebuilding trust after betrayal, or carrying hidden wounds you’re afraid to name, today’s conversation offers compassionate truth and practical guidance to help you breathe again.

You’ll Learn

• Why relational pain can feel overwhelming

• How betrayal and fear impact the brain and nervous system

• Why emotional safety is essential for healing

• What emotional intelligence really looks like in relationships

• How to unlearn unhealthy coping responses

• What to do if you’re willing to heal—but the other person isn’t

• How God meets us in relational heartbreak and restores hope

Key Themes

• Honesty and truth-telling
• Emotional and relational safety
• Healing from shame and fear
• Restoring trust
• Christ-centered restoration
• Personal healing even when relationships don’t rebuild

This Episode Is For You If…

✔️ You’ve experienced betrayal or broken trust
✔️ You long for connection but fear being hurt again
✔️ You struggle with anxiety in relationships
✔️ You want emotional maturity and healing
✔️ You desire hope, clarity, and Christ-centered encouragement

Resource referenced: Building True Intimacy: Creating a connection that stands the test of time by Dan Drake, Joanna Raabsmith and Matthew Raabsmith.

Faith Over Fear podcast episode: Does Conflict Make You Anxious? Practical Steps to Increased Relational Peace

Free Downloadable Resource: Healing for Painful Relationships

Connect with Joanna and Matthew Raabsmith on their ministry website

Connect with Dan Drake and learn more about his and the Raabsmith's work on the Intimacy Pyramid website.

Find Jennifer Slattery:

On her website

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Subscribe to her free newsletter

Discussion/Reflective Questions:

1. When have you felt the most emotionally unsafe in a relationship, and how did your body and heart respond?
2. What story do you tend to tell yourself when conflict happens—“I’m failing,” “I’m unlovable,” “They’ll hurt me,” etc.?
3. Where might unhealed past experiences be shaping how you see and react to present relationships?
4. What would emotional safety look like for you? What boundaries, support, or healing might God be inviting you toward?
5. Where do you sense God calling you to honesty—either with yourself, Him, or someone else?
6. If your current relational or emotional patterns remain the same, where might they lead you? What could healing change?
7. How does it encourage you to know that God does not shame your pain—but meets you in it with compassion and restoration?

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