Conversations from the Heart #119 - How to Talk to Your Emotionally Unsafe Parent
What do you do when every conversation with a parent leaves you feeling erased, criticized, or shut down, but walking away feels like betrayal?
In this raw and tender coaching session, we meet Suzanne, who’s struggling to navigate contact with her mother: a woman who routinely gaslights her, shuts down difficult topics, and prioritizes her own emotional comfort over honest connection. Suzanne wants to be seen. She also wants to stay safe. And in her family, those two things feel mutually exclusive.
We explore:
•The heartbreak of being unseen by a parent you still long to connect with.
•The nervous system impact of childhood emotional silencing, and why it still flares in adulthood.
•How to say “I don’t feel safe talking right now” without guilt.
•What to do when someone turns your feelings into personal attacks.
•And how to develop scripts that mirror instead of merge, so you can stay true to yourself in hard conversations.
If you’ve ever felt trapped in a role that doesn’t fit, or stuck in a pattern that leaves you numb, enraged, or ashamed, this one’s for you.
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