Stronger in the Difficult Places

Sometimes the answer to an unhealthy or less than perfect relationship is to leave. Sometimes that can be the most caring thing you can do for yourself and your spouse. Sometimes that's not the answer. Sometimes the answer is to stick in it, to grow, and to honor your commitment. While you are sticking in there, you also owe it to yourself to find your own happiness and care for yourself in the be...

Have you cheated? Have you violated your partner's trust through an in-person affair, secret online relationship, or pornography? Have you repeatedly found the words "I'm sorry" aren't enough to stop the suspicions and accusations? These words, alone, won't lead to relationship repair after an affair, nor do they communicate compassion for the victims of the affair. In this episode, Deborah Miller...

This episode was inspired by an episode I did with this Grit and Grace Life podcast. When the world feels like it's going haywire, we can get so caught up in trying to find truth and we get so polarized in our non- essential beliefs that it rips families apart and relationships apart. What I have learned is that there is only one truth in the world and there are only two things I know for sure. I...

This episode is for all the women who are in relationships that you knew better than to get into or are getting out of a relationship that probably wasn't working well from the beginning. It's for the women who are dating and finding themselves choosing the wrong men, for the wrong reasons, staying in relationships longer than they should or finding themselves stuck in the same place, every relati...

Have you ever held onto guilt so long that it turned into shame? Are you still holding onto something that is affecting your relationships and the ease through which you move through life? Latoya Mathews shares her shame story (a teenage abortion) and the effect that her shame and guilt had on the next decade of her life. She lays out a plan for healing in her 5 pillars of freedom. Latoya Mathews...

Philosopher and psychologist William James said "We don't laugh because we're happy, we are happy because we laugh." He knew this more than a century ago- laughter makes us feel good. And today, we're still exploring the many health benefits and embracing concepts such as laughter yoga and laughter therapy. In this episode, I provide some examples of how not to use laughter as a deflection of your...

Happy Mother's Day, they say. But what if you dread the day, spending hours in the card aisle trying to find a card because none of them fit? What if your relationship with your mother is strained or non-existent? Today, I speak with Darlene Brock, founder of The Grit and Grace Project and author of Raising Great Girls. She is a mom, a wife, and a daughter of a difficult mother. She shares her sto...

Many people who recognize the importance of boundaries and sincerely want to erect healthy ones seem to be missing the mark when it comes to implementation. In this episode, Dr. Zoe (licensed psychotherapist and relationship coach) specifies what constitutes healthy boundaries and what does not. She gives tools and words to maintain healthy ones and provides some insight on why you may have diffic...

Can a woman be too independent? Tamika McTier, podcast host, author and transformational coach, discusses healthy independence and dysfunctional independence. Tamika addresses the effect that toxic independence can have on a relationship and provides listeners with some tips to release Miss Independent. Not all of her! Just the unnecessary parts. https://www.tamikamctier.com   Connect with me: Dr....

Have you ever put off a conversation that you know you need to have? Are you doing it now? A conversation with a parent, friend, spouse or your child? In fact, it can feel easier to be more frank with a stranger than someone you know because the stakes aren't high. In relationships, the risk of hurting them or jeopardizing the relationship silences us. This is unfortunate because they are the very...

People-pleasers are known for doing whatever it takes to make other people happy. While being kind and helpful is generally a good thing, going too far to please others can leave you feeling emotionally depleted, stressed, and anxious.  In Today's episode, Trina Stutzman and I talked about her fails and wins in life. Her journey on pleasing people and how to overcome it and important to understand...

Sherry GABA (licensed psychotherapist and relationship coach author and founder of Wake-up Recovery formerly feature on VH1's Celebrity rehab) joins me today to discuss the difference between a toxic and co-dependent relationship, signs that you are in a toxic relationship and steps that you can take to heal yourself and move towards health. Episode resources: Book: Love Smacked, How to Stop the C...

Here's the scenario. Something happened. You messed up again. Your partner gave you an ultimatum or you hit rock bottom on some level. Maybe the scale screamed a number bigger than you have seen or even want to admit. Maybe your boss gave you a subtle warning that your job could be on the chopping block. Maybe you woke up with that hangover after you promised again you wouldn't have more than 1 gl...

In this episode, I speak with Adele Spraggon, author, speaker and creator of SHIFT: 4 steps to personal empowerment. We speak about how our brains are wired to keep us in patterns that are not serving us. She outlines her re-patterning technique that can help us create lasting change and finally accomplish our goals. Towards the end of our discussion, she doles out some great advice about how to c...

The weight of the things we don't say is heavy. Although you may realize the weight of it, you may also falsely believe that the weight of speaking up is heavier. In this episode, I speak about the four types of Unspoken truths and the consequences of not speaking them. I also discuss ways that you can approach those in your life and speak the words that are necessary and sometimes difficult to sa...

Sometimes, despite trying all the things, you may have a relationship in your life that has unresolved conflict. Although there is plenty of headway you can make in a relationship when you focus on yourself and change yourself, there are some people with whom you can not find common ground. Today, I'm excited to bring a guest, Shivonne Davis to talk about managing unresolved conflict and maybe eve...

At the beginning and end of this episode, I share my words and YOUR words (in your voices) for 2022. Many of us have goals, words, aspirations and desires for the new year. Our perfectionism is the first thing that sabotages it. Our perfectionism sabotages our relationship with others as well. In this episode, I talk about how to avoid that this year. I also define perfectionism and how it affects...

This episode is all about Your beautiful relationship with yourself moving into 2022. One of the things I love about entering the new year is that we collectively give space for reflection and goal setting. There is nothing magical about Dec 31st or Jan 1st, except the very special power of collective energy towards the same intention. And so I hold space for you today to reflect on your relations...

Decisions are tough to make when you're single. They're doubly tough when you're a couple. Toss in a little conflict and they can feel downright impossible. And it's no surprise that you don't agree. It makes sense that each of you will see things differently. So, what's a girl to do when there's a decision to make and you've gotta make it jointly, but you'd rather not because it never goes well?...

In this episode, I explore the foundational beliefs about why self-love seems like a selfish quality to attain, especially for women of faith, how I think Jesus modeled something different than what we are taught in churches and why women don't have to choose either self-sacrifice or self-love. They in fact, go together.   Connect with me: Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook Dr. Zoe...

Laura Doyle, New York Times Best Selling Author of The Empowered Wife was the perfect wife until she got married. We have a wonderful conversation about the tenants of her book, her programs, and her podcast, The Empowered Wife podcast. If you are struggling and feeling like you're the only one trying to fix or uplevel your relationship, you're not going to want to miss this. Listen in…   Connect...

I'm sure you've thought yourself or heard someone say, "I married my mother" or "I married my father." Well, there's a lot of truth to this. Despite our inability to recognize it, we do often marry someone like our mother or our father. Why? Dr Zoe (licensed psychotherapist, author and relationship coach) explains why this happens (through the lens of Imago theory) and teaches you some skills to w...

The holidays have snuck up on us and for many this time is filled with warm thoughts of time with family and friends. But for an increasing number of women, this time can spell dread as you think about spending it alone and separating holidays between your co parent partner. I invited Tammy Daughtry, America's Co-parenting Strategist, on the podcast to talk about navigating co-parenting over the h...

You have probably been doing all the things, focusing on yourself, self care, upleveling. You feel like you've got a good handle on that. But there is this glaring hole. You want a life partner. You deserve a life partner, but although it seems that it's happening for everyone else, it's not happening for you. It's hard to wait. And that's what Dr. Zoe (Licensed psychotherapist and relationship co...

As hard as it may be, sometimes we need to let friendships go. And it's hard and it can hurt. A lot. Often we stay too long and hurt longer than we have to because we don't want to hurt- ourselves and the other. But in holding on, we cause more pain. If this speaks to you. If there is a friendship, a business relationship, a romantic relationship that you know is not feeding your soul or even wors...