Sherapy Sessions: Cutting Toxic Family Ties

So many of us spend years, sometimes a lifetime, chasing love, validation, or approval from family members who will never give it.

In this episode, we talk about how to see the pattern for what it is, why it’s so hard to stop, and what it really takes to walk away from the chase.

In this episode, we will cover:

🍏 Why we keep returning to toxic or emotionally unavailable relatives, even when we know it hurts

🍏The signs you’re stuck i...

Have you ever felt like no matter what you did, it was never enough for your family?

Have you carried the heavy burden of criticism, manipulation, or indifference, always trying to fix what you didn’t break, always hoping that one day your love would be enough to change them?

Many survivors of toxic family dynamics wrestle with this painful reality, often staying far longer than they should out of guilt, duty, or the desperate hope...

Living someone else’s script—performing the role your family assigned while quietly losing touch with who you are—makes the shift to authenticity not just an emotional transformation but a full-body reckoning.

This episode explores the fall from “golden child” to scapegoat, the link between unresolved trauma and chronic illness, and how reclaiming authenticity fosters true mental, physical, and spiritual healing.

🌿 What is mind-bo...

Have you ever felt like you're living in someone else’s life script—following invisible rules, walking on emotional eggshells, and carrying pain that doesn’t fully belong to you?

Do you wonder why, even after cutting contact, your toxic family still seems to echo in your mind, body, or choices?

Survivors of enmeshed, narcissistic, or otherwise toxic family systems often live in what Jerry Wise brilliantly calls “the family trance”—a...

Are you beginning to realize that your healing started the moment the noise stopped? The moment you cut ties with your family?

If your healing journey has felt spiritual, psychological, and deeply physical all at once, it's because it should be.

Spiritual teacher and empath mentor Jennifer Pilates, shares the embodied path of healing after cutting ties with a toxic family. Because healing after family trauma isn’t just a psychologi...

Have you ever questioned whether your neurodivergence played a role in the trauma you endured—and perhaps even helped you escape it?

Was it the trauma that caused the ADHD, or did the ADHD cause the trauma?

In this powerful conversation, let's explore how living with undiagnosed ADHD made Angie, an ADHD coach and fellow survivor of a toxic family system, the perfect target for scapegoating—misunderstood, mislabeled, and chronically...

Has your relationship with your mother brought more pain than comfort? 

The mother wound is real, painful, and often invisible to outsiders—but healing is possible.

Join me and Stephi as we unpack the deeply misunderstood journey of women who recognize the “mother wound”—emotional enmeshment, manipulation, and conditional love—and make the toughest choice: breaking free.

🌿 Key behaviors that signal a toxic maternal relationship...

Have you ever felt responsible for a parent’s emotions—like it was your job to keep them happy, calm, or stable?

Were you praised for being the “mature one,” even though you were silently falling apart inside?

Do you ever struggle to know where your needs end and someone else’s begin?

If so, you may have grown up enmeshed.

In this episode, let's explore how enmeshment, adultification, and complex trauma converge to distort the vict...

In many toxic families, the scapegoat becomes the emotional and psychological sponge for everyone else’s dysfunction, pain, and projection. It’s a trauma-inducing role that is often misunderstood, dismissed, or mischaracterized as “drama.” But for those who live it, scapegoating is a profound and persistent form of psychological abuse.

One of our bravehearts, LaToya Rice, shares her personal experience as the scapegoated twin in a ...

You are more than a toxic family abuse survivor—you are a cycle breaker. And there is a powerful difference between the two.

In this episode, find out what it means to move beyond the pain of being the “scapegoat” and step into the empowered identity of a “cycle breaker.”

🌱 What is a cycle breaker?

🌱 How each cycle breaker’s story is uniquely their own but also similar to the story of other survivors

🌱 The devastation of being d...

What happens when you’re raised to believe your worth depends entirely on your mother’s emotional comfort?

Let's explore the insidious dynamics of covert narcissistic abuse, emotional enmeshment, victimhood, and the liberating power of estrangement.

🌿 the no win trap set by toxic mothers

🌿 the damaging power of the “victim role”

🌿 the “victim role” as a personality type

🌿 how the victim role silences its victims

🌿 conflict does...

For many daughters, the relationship with their father is the first blueprint for love, trust, and emotional safety. When that father is emotionally absent, narcissistic, or abusive, the wounds run deep.

Listen in for a deeper conversation on healing from the complex and often unspoken impact of toxic fathers and parental neglect.

🌱 Understanding Toxic Fathers

🌱 Recognizing Abuse: It's Hard to See When You're In It

🌱 Living in F...

Survival isn’t just about enduring hardship—it’s about reclaiming your power, rewriting your story, and learning how to thrive in a world that may have once felt unsafe. 

If you're trying to navigate your trauma right now, this episode offers powerful insights on:

🌿Surviving multiple traumatic events from home life, to foster care, to homelessness 

🌿How to find and use resilience 

🌿How foster care was safer than at h...

Society expects them to be strong, stoic, and unshakable. But what happens when the weight of trauma becomes unbearable? 

What happens when the very qualities that make them resilient also become the barriers that keep them from healing? 

In this unfiltered conversation, retired police officer Kevin Donaldson sheds light on the silent struggles of men, ranging from masculinity and emotional suppression to toxic family dynam...

Society tells us that family is everything—that blood is thicker than water. But what happens when that very bloodline is the source of deep emotional wounds?

What happens when the people who are supposed to love and support you are the ones causing the most harm and abusing you?

In this powerful conversation, Josh Connolly shares about the harsh societal pushback against survivors who choose to go no contact, the misplaced sympathy...

If you have endured the emotional wounds of toxic parenting and are ready to step into your power, this episode is for you.

Cari Fund shares her story and the critical importance of choice, the liberating power of boundaries, and the redemption found in becoming the person your parents could never be.

🌿 Defining moment and experiences that inspire healing

🌿 How our personal journey, when examined, can help us evolve and deepen our...

For those who have left toxic relationships, whether familial or romantic, curating a space that feels safe, nurturing, and reflective of one's authentic self is essential. The way we design our homes, organize our surroundings, and incorporate elements that bring us peace can be an act of self-love and reparenting, providing the stability we may have lacked in childhood or past relationships.

In this episode, let's explore the pro...

One of the most critical components of emotional well-being is feeling seen—not just physically but emotionally and psychologically. True recognition goes beyond mere presence; it involves being acknowledged, understood, and valued for who you are.

In this episode, we dive deep into the impact of toxic family systems, the importance of being seen, and so much more.

✅ What does it mean to be “seen”

✅ Why many survivors have develope...

Have you ever felt torn between loyalty to your family and the need to protect your own mental health?

Have you lived through the pain of toxic family relationships and are seeking hope, healing, and a path forward?

Drawing from the powerful stories shared by Tanya Dube, join me as we explore the many facets of life within toxic families. From the yearning for acceptance, the intricate tactics of manipulation, and the courage it ta...