Episode 142: How to Start Healing an Unhealthy Relationship (A Relationship Series, Part Five)

This week, Dr. Greg follows up on last week’s episode about the warning signs of emotional abuse to answer the question “What can I do if my relationship is unhealthy?” In this episode, he breaks open three practical steps you can take to help you navigate through the challenges of a difficult relationship.

Highlights from the episode: 

• The subtlety and invisibility of emotional and psychological abuse; 

• How the parts of us that believe “if only the other person would change, my life would be better” can overshadow other more helpful parts; 

• Free will and self-determination as integral parts of our humanity that cannot be taken away; 

• The importance of identifying where we still have freedom to make a choice;

• The fruitlessness of attempting to change another person’s behavior; 

• Understanding boundaries as necessary when making decisions in and about a relationship; 

• How there can be parts of us that put up roadblocks to our growth and development due to fear;

• The way we react, respond, and participate in relational dynamics as a result of our personality formed in childhood; 

• Growth in self-awareness as essential in the process of healing; 

• How courage and greater strength come from support and community. 

Resources mentioned or relevant:

• Last week’s episode: Seven Signs of Emotional Abuse (A Relationship Series, Part Four); 

• Need help? Schedule a free consultation call with someone on our team to discuss how we can support you;

• Past episodes on Internal Family Systems and parts work: 

• Ep. #34: A New Theory! with a Catholic Lens 

• Ep. #35: Why Do I Feel Like I Have Conflicting Parts? w/ Dr. Peter Malinoski; 

• More about the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat;

• Books: 

• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life;

• Stop Walking on Eggshells;

• Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning;

• Become a member of the Integrated Life Community to get access to every course Dr. Greg has created, plus the opportunity to participate in Integrated LIVE’s - weekly, Mentor hosted Q&As covering topics like boundaries, communication, trauma, forgiveness, and more!

• Download The Integrated App for access to free audio exercises, courses, prayer resources, and more;

• Learn about IDDM (Mentorship), our new model of accompaniment;

• Sign up for Being Human, our weekly newsletter, to stay up to date on the exciting developments at CatholicPsych;

• Visit our website to read the CatholicPsych blog, shop in the CatholicPsych bookshop, or discover other resources we have available;

• Join the waitlist to be notified about our next Open House to learn more about the new CPMAP certification!

Contact us! Have a topic or a question you would like Dr. Greg to address on the podcast? Want to give some feedback about this episode? Email us at beinghuman@catholicpsych.com - we would love to hear from you!

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