Healing After Emotional Abuse: Why Small Decisions Feel So Hard (and How to Reclaim Yourself)
Leaving an emotionally abusive or toxic relationship is often described as the hardest step — but what many people don’t talk about is what happens after you leave.
Psychological Abuse Doesn’t Happen All at Once: Healing After Divorce and Gaslighting
Psychological abuse rarely announces itself.
There is no single explosive moment. No clear line where you suddenly realize, This is abuse. Instead, it happens quietly—chip by chip, moment by moment—until your sense of self slowly disappears.
In a recent Bent Not Broken bonus coaching episode, I reflected on my powerful and raw conversation with Kristen Crabtree, a certified divorce coach and creator of the Paramore Paradox. Kristen spent 22 years in a psychologically abusive marriage, and what she shared resonated deeply with so many listeners navigating divorce, emotional abuse, and gaslighting.
Listening to the Voice Within After Divorce and Trauma
Starting over after divorce—or after emotional abuse, heartbreak, or trauma—can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself. Many women describe this season as survival mode: making decisions out of necessity rather than clarity, doubting themselves, and questioning every step forward.
Your Diagnosis Is Not Your Destiny: How Trauma, Functional Seizures, and RTT Can Help You Rebuild Your Life After Divorce or Heartbreak
Most people talk about “starting over after divorce” as if it’s a neat, simple reset. But anyone who has lived through divorce, emotional abuse, gaslighting, or trauma knows the truth: starting over is messy, emotional, and deeply personal.
When “Fair” Means Losing Everything: Finding Strength After Divorce
One of the most painful truths about divorce is that words can suddenly change meaning.
Fair becomes punishment.
Love becomes leverage.
Connection becomes control.
This isn’t just about property. It’s about power — and the deep wound that forms when someone you once trusted chooses harm over humanity.
📺 From “Leave It to Beaver” to “Modern Family”: How TV Redefined the American Family
In this thought-provoking (and fun!) episode of Bent Not Broken, host Deborah Griffiths teams up with media strategist and visionary Julie Lokun, JD, to explore how television has both reflected and reshaped the American family.
What started as wholesome black-and-white images of the 1950s nuclear household has evolved into a colorful mosaic of blended, single, and chosen families. Together, Deborah and Julie unpack how TV shows have mirrored social change, challenged norms, and helped redefine what it truly means to belong.