The Crappy Childhood Fairy Podcast with Anna Runkle

Abuse, neglect and other traumatic experiences from your past can cause nervous system changes that cause your emotions to come out stronger than other people's. Rage, panic, or passionate attachment to others can get so oversized that they ruin relationships and damage others' trust in you. In this "best of" compilation I teach you why this happens, and how to regulate your nervous system, so you can have the full range of emotions, but not be drowned by them. *** Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeWEnroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcfSend your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Based on all the hundreds of letters I get – the background stories about abuse and neglect in childhood, and the present day struggles to form loving, committed relationships – it’s clear to me that limerence is the fruit of emotional neglect. We get too good at seeing love where there is no love, and if we don’t heal, it continues into adulthood, becoming worse in times when we’re isolated, grieving, and chronically stressed. In this video I respond to a letter from a Ukranian refugee devastated when a new relationship fizzled out. Is Past Trauma Affecting Your Dating Life? Take the QUIZ: https://bit.ly/3EUy8Yh *** Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeWEnroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcfSend your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Have CPTSD? TAKE THE QUIZ: http://bit.ly/3GhE65z FREE COURSE: The Daily Practice: http://bit.ly/3X1BrE0 Website: http://bit.ly/3CxgkRY *** What do you do when you're forced to be face-to-face with the person who traumatized you when you were small? Do you confront them, warn them, talk in advance? Ignore them? In this video I respond to a letter from a woman who will be attending a family gathering, where she'll see her father for the first time after years of no contact. Hear my suggestions for strengthening her boundaries to avoid trouble, while enjoying the day. Difficult People in Your Life? Try These NINJA BOUNDARIES: https://bit.ly/3YCnpZJ ***

Have CPTSD? TAKE THE QUIZ: http://bit.ly/3GhE65z FREE COURSE: The Daily Practice: http://bit.ly/3X1BrE0 Website: http://bit.ly/3CxgkRY *** If you grew up in a dysfunctional family (especially if your parents didn't have strong social skills) there’s a high probability that finding good friends and developing close friendships has been hard for you. The lack of good friends can devastate your life over time: You end up isolated, lonely and vulnerable. Having people who love you and “get” you is a factor in your physical and mental health. Not having friends is a big setback, and if this has been a struggle in the past, you've been robbed you of the life you deserve in some ways already. In this video I break down, step by step, actions you can take to find better friends and sustain more fulfilling friendships over time. Learn Better Friendship Skills. FREE Download: https://bit.ly/3WS0475 ***

A history of abuse and neglect in childhood affects how you think, what you believe, and how you act. This is a major factor that explains why people with CPTSD seem to make self-sabotaging decisions, ruining opportunities and repeating terrible mistakes you swore you'd never do again. In this "best of" compilation, I share a collection of videos where I teach about identifying trauma-driven decisions and thoughts, and how to support yourself in order to make better choices and change your life. Has Past Trauma Affected Your Ability to Connect? CONNECTION QUIZ: https://bit.ly/3LcjDD8 Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Have CPTSD? TAKE THE QUIZ: http://bit.ly/3GhE65z FREE COURSE: The Daily Practice: http://bit.ly/3X1BrE0 Website: http://bit.ly/3CxgkRY *** It's common for people who grew up emotionally neglected or exposed to trauma to have difficulty finding friends and maintaining friendships. Sometimes we choose unreliable people; sometimes we (unintentionally) push good poeple away. In this "best of" compilation I share a series of videos highlighting common challenges for people with CPTSD. ***

Have CPTSD? TAKE THE QUIZ: http://bit.ly/3GhE65z FREE COURSE: The Daily Practice: http://bit.ly/3X1BrE0 Website: http://bit.ly/3CxgkRY *** To avoid responsibility for their own actions, abusive parents sometimes make one child into a scapegoat, and siblings follow suit. Scapegoat suffer horribly, but getting pushed out of the family sometimes means they demonstrate more strength and success in life than those who we kept in the family fold. In this video I respond to a letter from a woman trying to make sense of the fact she was rejected by every family member. Difficult People in Your Life? Try These NINJA BOUNDARIES: https://bit.ly/3YCnpZJ

If you grew up neglected, chances are good that when you’re under stress, you get emotionally dysregulated -- your nervous system reacts to stressors with extra strong emotions. When most people would be hurt, you’re devastated. When you fall in love it feels enormous. And getting angry, unfortunately for the people who love you, can turn into RAGE. Emotional dysregulation is not exclusive to Childhood PTSD, but it’s a very common and very destructive symptom. And perhaps more than any other truama symptom, it ruins relationships and kills dreams. The good news is, healing is possible, and in this video I teach you how. Try the FREE Daily Practice Course: https://bit.ly/3Y4263I Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

To be “Demoralized” means to be deflated of all that makes you strong – to have too many bad and discouraging things happen to you until you lose your mental clarity, and lose your drive to bring good into the world. It includes disempowerment, but it takes it one terrible step further – to where you lose your awareness of what is GOOD, and what is right. The most important first step of healing is to recover your faith that GOOD is real, and it matters. Heal Trauma in Just One Year? https://bit.ly/3JrPdvx Take my FREE Course or Quizzes: https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Codependency may feel like a personality quirk but it can grow much, much worse. Codependency can snowball into a crisis-level distortion of thinking that -- unless you heal -- drags down your life (and the lives of others). In this video, I respond to a letter from a woman who finds herself pregnant and dependent upon an undependable and possibly dangerous partner, but cannot see the role she must play to get to safety. Is Past Trauma Affecting Your Dating Life? Take the QUIZ: https://bit.ly/3EUy8Yh Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]   

People neglected or abandoned in childhood often have an anxious attachment style in adulthood, growing frantic while dating a new person to extract security and connection, before they get to know the other person. The result can be off-putting for partners and can ruin any chance of finding real love. In this video I respond to a letter from a young woman whose first date starts well, but ends in the same disaster she's created before. Hear my tips for healing attachment wounds and pacing the dating process to avoid pushing good people away. Is Past Trauma Affecting Your Dating Life? Take the QUIZ: https://bit.ly/3EUy8Yh Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected] 

Many people traumatized as children show TRAITS of narcissism. Part if this is learned from narcissistic parents, and part develops to compensate for trauma wounds. In this "best of" compilation I bring together my most popular videos on traits of narcissism -- in ourselves and others -- and letters from people raised by narcissistic parents. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected] 

People are triggering, especially if you who were traumatized in the past. One way to manage your triggers is through avoidance -- living in isolation, holding loved ones at arms length, or going through the motions of a connected life but never feeling connected at all. In this "best of" compilation of my videos on avoidance, I teach about the signs to look for in yourself and others of avoidance, with practical steps to begin to heal. Has Past Trauma Affected Your Ability to Connect? CONNECTION QUIZ: https://bit.ly/3LcjDD8 Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected] 

A cluttered living space is one common sign a person has been affected by past trauma. But Complex-PTSD often manifests as a similar kind of chaos and overwhelm in your thinking, your relationships, your emotions and the way you spend your time. Learn how you can declutter your thinking, your friendships, your calendar and yes -- your physical space. Try My Ultimate Mental Decluttering Technique Free -- The Daily Practice: https://bit.ly/3Y4263I Website: https://bit.ly/3Nyg7nt

I received several letters this week (the fifth week of lockdown) about the ache of emptiness that's getting hard to escape. Is real love even possible for people with CPTSD? Here's my answer. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Adults who experienced early trauma are prone to dysregulation of the brain and nervous system, especially in response to stress. Dysregulation, in turn, can trigger (or exacerbate) depression, anxiety, illness, addiction and emotional outbursts. So clearly, learning to re-regulate is the first step in healing the effects of Childhood PTSD. 10 Emergency Measures to Re-Regulate: https://bit.ly/3ogTEkM Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

When you meet someone really wonderful, do you fall into consuming anxiety about whether it will work out -- to the extent that it damages any hope of having a relationship? This is not uncommon, and is one manifestation of CPTSD. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a woman who has gradually gotten to know a good man, and has just begun to date him. As soon as she was sure the feelings were reciprocal, the panic set in. Listen to her story and my advice to her to save this budding relationship while she still can. Download my FREE guide to the signs that tell you someone is "partner material." https://bit.ly/3KYOxP1 Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

In the post-pandemic age of the internet, more people than ever are isolated and LONELY. People who have lived through trauma, especially in childhood, may have suffered neurological changes that make connecting even harder -- until you learn to heal. In this episode, I teach about trauma-driven loneliness -- what causes it, how to heal it, and how healthy solitude can be part of your healing. Has past trauma affected your ability to connect with people? Download my free Connection Quiz here: https://bit.ly/3GLul0F Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected] 

Getting things done is a HUGE problem for many people, especially with the neurological effects of trauma complicating your ability to focus, to maintain consistent energy levels, and to handle emotional upsets that are bound to happen from time to time. In this "best of" compilation, I share strategies for overcoming procrastination and "action paralysis." Learn how you can overcome limitations from the past and accomplish important goals that make you happy. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Abandonment triggers can get activated when you feel rejected, overlooked, left behind and ostracized: If you grew up physically or emotionally neglected, abandonment wounds may damage relationships and professional opportunities. How can you tell if YOUR abandonment wounds are active? In this episode, I teach about the triggers that are common for people who carry wounds of abandonment and ostracization. You Can Try the Healing Techniques I mention in this episode here: FREE Daily Practice Course: https://bit.ly/3A3v5dH  Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

As a child you developed coping mechanisms to tolerate abuse and still keep your precious spirit intact. People with Childhood PTSD often internalize the hateful messages they received, and struggle to change their lives for the better. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a woman who speaks to herself in the same cruel way her father once did. Hear my advice to her on how CHANGE the pattern of self-attack, and take positive actions toward a fuller and happier life. You Can Try the Healing Techniques I mention in this episode here: FREE Daily Practice Course: https://bit.ly/3A3v5dH Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

In this "best of" compilation of earlier episodes, I teach about the ways Childhood PTSD and CPTSD can disrupt your ability to find, grow and maintain good relationships. Sit back and enjoy! Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

When destructive people harm children, they literally introduce evil into those children's lives. Unless trauma is healed, this evil -- this harm -- is very likely to be passed from person to person, and generation to generation. It can STOP with you! Learn how healing trauma is the most important step you can take to transform yourself and change the course of history. Learn a practical way to release resentful and fearful emotions: Take my free Daily Practice course here: https://bit.ly/3A3v5dH  Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Emotionally immature and neglectful parenting may have left you with a huge developmental gap -- a failure to thrive -- unable to envision or pursue the future you need and deserve.The urge to ESCAPE is a normal response to trauma, and can show up as limerent obsession with someone you can't have, working in low-paying jobs that can never support you, and waiting for someone to come along and put your life on track. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a young woman who is isolated in a job that doesn't pay the bills, who is longing for someone to scoop her up and help her feel like she's part of a family. Are you ready to radically heal your life? Download my free worksheet ONE YEAR TO HEAL here: https://bit.ly/3DX1iWx Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected] 

If you grew up with trauma and dysfunction you probably didn't learn how to recognize, communicate and hold your boundaries. In this "best of" compilation, I teach what boundaries ARE, why people often don't respect them and how to manage your words and actions so that people can't violate the limits you set for yourself and how you're treated. A lack of boundaries may be the BIG reason why you isolate yourself from others. Take my Connection Quiz here: https://bit.ly/3GMCgdX Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

Some people "underfunction" -- they struggle to get motivated, finish tasks, or pursue what they really want in life. But the opposite traits can be just as limiting: Overfunctioning is the name for when you take on more than your share of responsibility. You pay more than your share. You help people who haven't asked for help (and who could help themselves). You have an overdeveloped sense that YOU know best what others should eat, think and do. But overfuncitoning is a trauma-driven behavior, and leads to burnout, resentment and alienation for the people you love. Find out what it looks like and how you can start healing. Are you dysregulated? Download my QUIZ here: https://bit.ly/3MJFZwA Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Send your questions & comments to: [email protected]

It's not easy watching a friend make choices that YOU think are terrible mistakes. You might be right, but that doesn't mean it's helpful or supportive to keep pushing your advice on them. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who has lost a friend whom she tried to warn about a job decision they were making. Finding out why I teach that believing you know BETTER than a peer how they should is a huge friendship mistake. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf  You can access my Connection Bootcamp course right here: https://bit.ly/3GLul0F

Everyone has self-defeating behaviors, and everyone gets triggered sometimes. But if you grew up with abuse and neglect, it can be hard to control the emotional reactions that erupt when you're stressed, and this can lead to even stronger self-sabotaging actions. So much of the damage from childhood trauma lies in this trigger/emotiona/behavior sequence that can take place over and over throughout your life. But you can heal that sequence so that you can handle stress WITHOUT slipping into old patterns that have held you back. In this podcast I tell you how. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf Download '16 CPTSD Behaviors That Sabotage Your Success': https://bit.ly/3MLVdkO

People who were emotionally neglected as children often find themselves by people who (you guessed it) emotionally neglect them: They don't want to hear you when it's your turn to talk. They don't want to help you when you need help -- even though you've helped THEM many times. If you find yourself hurt and resentful that your friends are self-centered, the change begins with you. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who wonders why her friends are like this; hear my tips for how she can change this pattern and enjoy reciprocation with good people who care. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

Work and career are important to success and happiness. But trauma from your childhood can trigger behaviors that block your advancement and ruin opportunities. In this podcast, I teach common trauma-driven behaviors behaviors that can hurt your work life, and how you can change and heal. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

Trauma during childhood can teach you to "give away your power" through self-destructive tendencies, people pleasing, and an urge to flee conflict, responsibility, and intimacy. To heal trauma, you need your POWER -- the power to take care of yourself, to take action, and to hold boundaries against mistreatment by others. In this podcast, I teach about 20 ways that people with CPTSD sometimes give their power away -- and what to do to build it BACK. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf You can access my Dating and Relationships course right here: https://bit.ly/3odjqGr

How hard do you work to keep your life on track? Some people with past trauma find they take on too much, while others are disorganized and procrastinate, hide from responsibilities, struggle to move forward toward goals. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman with CPTSD. She was forced to take on adult responsibilities as a child, and today finds herself under-functioning, and is ready to change the pattern. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

When you were a kid, you had no choice but to adapt yourself to whatever neglectful hurtful treatment you received. But now that you're an adult, it's time to shed your ability to "Crapfit" -- my word for when you fit yourself to unacceptable people and situations. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who wants her boyfriend to treat her with more care and respect. But he doesn't seem to get the message. Hear my advice to help her stop crapfitting! Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf You can download "10 Things Romantic Manipulators Say" right here: https://bit.ly/3od3xzY

If you were raised by an emotionally unstable parent, you had no choice but to accept their chaotic life choices, lack of boundaries and ever-changing rules. This was a survival strategy for you, but now it's time to clarify for yourself YOUR needs, preferences and values -- and develop boundaries so loved ones can no longer take those away from you. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who is ready to set boundaries with her impulsive, demanding mother, but needs help preparing for the explosive emotions likely to follow. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

Getting things done is a HUGE problem for many people, especially with the neurological effects of trauma complicating your ability to focus, to maintain consistent energy levels, and to handle emotional upsets that are bound to happen from time to time. In this "best of" compilation, I share strategies for overcoming procrastination and "action paralysis." Learn how you can overcome limitations from the past and accomplish important goals that make you happy. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

You may have been told that shame is just a way that bad people try to make you feel bad about yourself. Sometimes this is true, but the harder kind of shame is "earned" shame -- where you feel badly about something you said or did, or failed to do. The trouble is, most of us are afraid to face shame feelings. "Shame shifting" is my term for when you feel shame and can't face it, so immediately begin to look for who to BLAME. Blame may make you feel better in the short term, but it hurts other people and stops YOU from facing yourself -- releasing shame where you can and amending mistakes you made in the past. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

One of the most brutal but deceptive symptoms of Childhood PTSD is the romanticization of unrequited love. Loving, available partners seem boring, while those who don't want you seem to represent a higher realm of being, and give you (if only in fantasy) the experience of great love and emotion. The compulsion to love unavailable people will rob you of all happiness, and any chance of real love. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a woman who pours her life into creative collaboration with a man far younger who is not interested. Even while asking for help, she is caught in denial. Hear my answer to help her get free. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

"Cool Girls" are women who appear to feel relaxed and happy about "friends with benefits" relationships, and to have no expectations that get in the way of commitment-free sex. There's a lot of social pressure to be "cool," but for people who were neglected or abandoned as children, acting cool is a charade meant to cover what they've been told is shameful -- a desire for a serious and monogamous relationship. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a young woman who has been brainwashed to believe her expectations are the problem. Hear my suggestions to get real with herself and change her entire approach to dating. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

A history of abandonment in childhood makes you prone to attach to people who abandon you and worse. But focusing on the REASON for the pattern is an explanation, but not a solution. If your pattern is terrible relationships, you will keep having them until you get the power to live, and the will to change. In this episode, I respond to a letter from a woman who is in her second abusive marriage; hear my advice to her for how to face what's happening, change her pattern, and salvage her future. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

If you're feeling alone, lacking friends or feeling that the friendships you have are shallow, fragile, or hurtful, you may be experiencing one of the most common signs that trauma in your childhood has affected you. Abuse and neglect can leave a lasting wound that makes connection with others difficult. But you CAN heal friendship wounds. In this compilation, I teach common ways you may be hiding who you really are, pushing friends away, or clinging to friendships that make your life harder. I teach how you can heal the underlying hurts, and free yourself to find the right people who "get you" and who support you in creating a happy, fulfilling life. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

How many of your problems today were a) caused by things that happened to you in the past versus b) caused by trauma-driven behaviors that you haven't yet been able to change? You can't change the past but you CAN begin to change the habits and patterns that keep causing pain your life -- broken relationships, failed projects, lost opportunities. In this episode, I list ten common ways people who were neglected or abused sometimes sabotage their own success and happiness -- and what to do to break the cycle and start building a good life. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

People who were abused or neglected as children long to feel a sense of belonging. But when you join a group, you may often find you struggle to feel like you're truly a part of it -- and you may find excuses to stay on the periphery, or to leave. Few understand the way CPTSD is an injury to the ability to connect to other people; in this episode, I talk about what that feels like, and practical steps you can take to heal. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

People who were traumatized as children often grow up to either avoid relationships or to choose unavailable people who not only leave them unfulfilled but blocks them from meeting appropriate, available people who might add happiness to their lives. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who has never experienced more than fleeting relationships and knows that to find love; she'll have to choose differently. But how? Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

People neglected as children often find themselves drawn to partners who have an avoidant attachment style -- emotionally cold, often withdrawing love and connection unexpectedly, triggering anxious partners to blame themselves and work overtime to make the relationship work. In this podcast, I respond to a woman whose avoidant ex-partner wants to try again -- while he dates other women. Find out how I help her set boundaries and shed guilt about her role in the relationship's demise. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

Past abuse and neglect can leave you vulnerable to the idea of a GREAT LOVE: The feeling that someone special is out there can keep you depressed, longing, and unable to form close relationships with people who are in your life now. In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who has been cheating on her husband with her EX-husband, and though the ex is never really coming back, she can't let go. I'll teach concrete steps to recognize this kind of limerent relationship and to STOP mental obsession. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

SO many of my letter writers were raised by alcoholic parents; it's rare that any of them recover, change their self-destructive behavior, or acknowledge the harm they caused. When such a parent is dying, is it wise to demand they stop drinking in order to receive your help? In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who is exasperated with her mother, who has cancer and flat-out refuses to stop her drinking and smoking. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

People traumatized as children often struggle to name, hold and express their boundaries, especially when isolated and lonely. This can lead you to attack your own needs and expectations, and to cooperate with people who lead you on with hope of a relationship, but who only want to feed off your romantic energy and make you a "side-chick." In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a woman who fears that if she shuts the door on this type of friends-with-crumbs-of-benefits, she'll have no one. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

Almost everyone struggles with procrastination sometimes. But people who were traumatized as children, the most important work of your life may never get done because your instinctive reactions to stress, criticism and potential rejection can feel paralyzing. There is a way forward and in this podcast, I break it down, step by step so you can become productive, focused and full of energy to live your life. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

How do you know when something is RIGHT for you? If you were traumatized as a child you may have lost the ability to sense "rightness" -- a true fit with someone you love, a job or decision. It's hard to know when a choice is your hearts desire and when you are motivated by someone else's agenda, or a need for security. When this happens, you can end up with a life that feels wrong and is full of regret, and that’s exactly what happened to a woman whose letter I'm answering in this podcast. We talk about the one she lost, her fierce regrets, and what she can do to discover the life that will truly make her happy. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf

Can you be addicted to a person? If romantic relationships turn to obsession, especially after they're over, it's time to heal trauma bonds that "hook" you into people who are selfish, manipulative, and who "blow hot and cold." In this podcast, I respond to a letter from a man who struggles to detach from an ex who tries to keep him at arm's length but hooked on her all the same. Take my FREE Course or Quizzes:  https://bit.ly/40M2YeW Enroll in my Courses or Membership: https://bit.ly/3HP5qcf