Love and Abuse

Episodi

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  It's me or them: When someone wants to control your relationship with others 09.07.2026 49min

  When someone wants to control who you see by giving you an ultimatum between them and "me", you might have a hard choice to make. Or, maybe it's an easy choice, but it might be hard to get there from here. 
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  Being called a bad parent if you want to leave the abusive relationship 02.07.2026 25min

  You realize the relationship isn't going to work out and want to leave, but you're worried about being called a bad parent. Not only that, you are guaranteed to be called a bad parent by an abusive partner. Are you stuck in this relationship forever? 
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  I don't want to hurt the person who hurts me by leaving them 26.06.2026 35min

  Your heart is big. And your kindness and compassion, though amazing qualities, can also keep you in situations that are unhealthy for you. When you're afraid you're going to hurt someone by leaving them, there's a bigger picture to keep in mind. 
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  The feeling that you lost a big chunk of your life to the abusive person 18.06.2026 24min

  It's hard enough to be in a difficult relationship, but when your boundaries are shot, your adrenals are through the roof, and lots of years have passed, you might be wondering if this entire relationship was a giant waste of time, thinking about all the things you could have or should have done instead. 
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  Leaving an abusive person isn't easy and sometimes isn't over 11.06.2026 44min

  It can be hard to be in an emotionally abusive relationship. The challenge is real! But what about leaving one? It might be just as hard or harder because of the unknown of what happens next. 
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  The trauma bond keeps you lovesick and broken 04.06.2026 30min

  A trauma bond is like being addicted to both the highs and lows, just waiting for your next fix. It's not impossible to break a trauma bond, but it can be hard as hell. 
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  Can you still like someone who hurt you but not love them? 28.05.2026 40min

  Can the victim of emotional abuse accept the former abuser as a friend after a lot of time has passed? I received this question from someone who used to be emotionally abusive, feels awful about it, but has been out of that relationship for years. Then she met up with her ex again, and things are different, but not in the way she expected. 
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  Are your children being manipulated, too? 18.05.2026 43min

  You're watching your child mirror a narcissistic parent and it feels like you're losing ground. Arguing with the lies they're being told feels pointless, but asking the right questions might just be what helps you keep your connection to your children, helping them choose empathy over manipulation.
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  If you don't draw the line on how much is too much, you won't have a line 07.05.2026 39min

  How much mistreatment is too much? When your boundaries are violated over and over again, there will be a point where you have none and the sky will be the limit on someone else's hurtful and controlling behaviors. 
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  How does an abusive person become an abusive person? 30.04.2026 18min

  There's got to be a reason someone becomes abusive, right? All abusers abused as children... is that it? Maybe it's a mental health issue. Maybe it's none, some, or all of the above. Or maybe it's something else. 
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  Getting conned into taking an unhealed abuser back 28.04.2026 25min

  They've changed! They've really seemed to change. They seem like a new person so you take them back. Then you find out they were just playing the long game. Emotionally abusive people can heal if they want to. Those who don't may just come back to fool you again. 
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  Do mutually abusive relationships have a chance? 21.04.2026 38min

  Sometimes both people in the relationship are hurtful, controlling and manipulative. When that's the case, it's going to take more than one person stopping the behaviors, and that presents a few challenges in itself. 
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  The superiority complex of misogynists 15.04.2026 28min

  A unique episode about the superiority complex that drives mysogny in abusive relationships, why abusive people target those they perceive as weaker, and how their insecurity fuels the need to control and dominate.  
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  When you won't see an emotionally abusive person change 08.04.2026 37min

  You can't fix what's unwilling to be fixed. And when someone would rather you and the relationship suffer and crumble than work on improving themselves, you might have only one choice left. 
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  Did you sign up for a life of indentured servitude? 01.04.2026 26min

  If you feel trapped in a maze of emotional manipulation, hoping for a change that never comes, you might realize you've signed up for something you didn't expect and certainly don't want. There's a history lesson in this episode that may give you all you need to know for what the future holds for your relationship. 
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  They say they love you but they hurt you anyway 24.03.2026 27min

  Some people seem to care but then do awful things. When they do, it's hard not to question if they love you at all. 
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  I feel like a bad person for being abusive back 19.03.2026 24min

  Sometimes emotionally abusive people heal and change. Sometimes they just... change. Either way, when the victim of their behavior gets a "break", they might discover a lot of buried emotions that are just itching to come out. 
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  The healed emotional abuser is more than just a behavioral change 13.03.2026 51min

  I've seen emotionally abusive people heal and become completely different people. You wouldn't even recognize them! And when you no longer recognize the person who's hurt you over and over again, that might be a very good thing. 
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  Do we talk about divorce during the argument or the calm period 03.03.2026 24min

  When you've decided to leave the emotionally abusive relationship, when is the best time to bring it up? During the storm or the calm? 
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  Do I accept that this is how theyll be forever 10.02.2026 43min

  Some behaviors are unacceptable. Some people are unacceptable. Just what should you accept and what should you do when you can't? Emotional abuse has a tendency to make you feel completely powerless, unable to make such decisions.