Emancipate Your Mind

Religious trauma is often tied to and perpetuated by dysfunctional family systems, particularly headed by one or more narcissists. In today’s episode, we explore the roles in narcissistic family systems and how that affects each person’s sense of safety, belonging, and ability to care for their own needs. _____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com 

After the last episode with Monika Crowfoot, many people messaged me discussing how they felt caught between cultures like she did and felt inspired to learn more about their cultural heritage as a way to heal. I also received messages from some expressing that they wished they had a culture to reclaim. Many felt culture-less and wondered if it was necessary to explore their cultural heritage in order to regain a sense of self after leaving high demand religion. Growing up in a country full of immigrants, we can sometimes feel like we have no defined cultural home. We know from research on international adoption that cultural identity is a big part of creating a sense of personal identity. Children who are raised with access to their cultural heritage have a greater sense of well being, self acceptance, and a sense of belonging even when they live in cultures that are far different from the ones of their birth. In this episode, we discuss how exploring our cultural identities, even when those identities may be ambiguous or obscured by American assimilation, can help us more fully know and understand ourselves, our families of origin, and how we fit into the world around us. This may be especially important for those of us recovering from high demand religions where our personal identities have been stripped from us.  _____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com 

In dualistic systems (good vs. evil thinking) there are some identities and traits that are favored and others that are considered “wrong” or “bad”. This leads people to try and assimilate to the identities that are considered “good” and hide or disown the parts of themselves that are considered “bad”. In this episode, Monika discusses how that kind of binary or dualistic thinking can impact your sense of identity, belonging, and self worth when you’re told by your religious leaders and books of scripture that your ancestors were “cursed” with dark skin because they were evil. Monika talks about her experience being raised in Mormonism on a Navajo reservation and how that informed her identity as a child, what eventually led her to question what she was taught by the church about her indigenous heritage, how she began to feel pride in her ancestry and love for the Navajo part of herself, and how that’s allowed her to begin to heal generational trauma for herself and with her kids.  _______________________________________________________________________________FOLLOW MONIKA Watch her TikToks on deconstructing religious harm, deconstructing colonialism, owning her Navajo heritage, her acting and writing careers, and just enjoying everyday life. Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming memoir she just finished writing and talks about in this episode.  Or follow her on social media: On TikTok: @monikacrowfootOn Instagram: @monikacrowfoot _____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com 

Over the past two years, we’ve collectively been in a state of ongoing trauma. A global pandemic, ecological disasters, political upheaval, supply chain problems and increasing inflation. Add onto this that many of us have undergone religious and ideological deconstruction, including deconstruction of ideas we were raised to believe based on gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation,  physical ability, and the ways our brains receive and process information. These stressors, especially when ongoing, can overwhelm even the calmest of people. Our nervous systems were not built to handle long periods of ongoing stress. In this episode, we discuss how to take steps to diminish overwhelm even in circumstances where stress is ongoing. _____________________________________________________________________________LOOKING FOR THE EMOTIONAL MAP DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE? This article on mapping emotions includes a great beginner guide with emotions grouped into larger, similar families._____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com 

In this episode, Charisse from The Existential Ginger podcast explores high demand religion, mental health, and suicidal ideation. We talk about how to recognize some of the signs and symptoms, what to do if you’re experiencing suicidal ideation, and how to help if you know someone who is.  _______________________________________________________________________________WANT MORE FROM CHARISSE? Listen to her podcast “The Existential Ginger” everywhere you love to listen to podcasts. She’s on all of the directories and this year she’s getting more philosophical, which is going to be an exciting adventure! Or follow her on social media: On Twitter @theexistentialgingOn TikTok @theexistentialgingerOn Facebook @theexistentialgingerOn Instagram @theexistentialginger_____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com 

Explore the deep connections between codependency and high-demand religious backgrounds. Personal stories highlight the journey from unhealthy relationships to self-reliance. The discussion encourages breaking free from external validation and embracing individuality. Learn about the harmful implications of sacrificial love and discover the importance of setting boundaries. The emphasis is on emotional healing, self-awareness, and fostering genuine connections while detaching from others' emotional baggage.

Kevin Hales, a licensed professional counselor specializing in marriages, shares insights on forming healthy attachments in relationships. He dispels ideals around perfect soulmates, stressing the need for active partnership and clear communication. The discussion delves into emotional complexities, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability and respectful dialogue. Hales also touches on self-compassion, accountability, and the balance between independence and connection, providing tools to navigate the dynamics of relationships effectively.

We all have bias. Once we decide that something is “true” or “right”, our brain quits accumulating information that contradicts our beliefs.  It does this to save us time and energy. However, for those of us who are deconstructing high demand, authoritarian systems of thought it’s especially crucial that we remain open to learning new ideas, especially ones that call into question our cherished beliefs of what is “right”, “true”, or “the way things are” if we wish to continue to think freely and live as our full selves. In this episode, we discuss how we sometimes deconstruct ideologies but keep the underlying patterns of thought and behavior that kept us in the high demand religion in the first place. Some of these patterns are a high discomfort with uncertainty, a need to have a “right” answer so that we feel safe, and the desire to only keep people in our circles that agree with us. We’ll also discuss some of the uncomfortable, but necessary, measures we can take if we wish to confront our bias and live as freely and imaginatively as possible._____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com

“Religion has the ability to impact which identities you hold onto, which identities you deny, and even what identities you think are possible and are valid”. “At its best, religious culture can be beautiful grounds for human flourishing, but at its worst it can be incredibly suppressive.”  In this episode, public speaker, writer, and ordained minister, Alicia T. Crosby speaks about her experience growing up as a Black Baptist minister’s daughter, grappling with her identity as a queer person, and her own process of recognizing, deconstructing, and healing religious violence for herself and her efforts to create social justice for other groups marginalized by religion in the world. She speaks about religious violence against POC that comes from white supremacy embedded in Western Christianity and how doing our own work with shame resilience can help us tolerate the discomfort necessary to confront these subconscious beliefs and biases and allow ourselves to grow into a new way of believing and behaving.    ____________________________________________________________________________WANT MORE OF ALICIA’S WORK? Visit her at her website:aliciatcrosby.com Or follow her on social media:Instagram @aliciatcrosby TikTok @aliciatcrosby Twitter @aliciatcrosby _____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com

Transcript If you were raised in a high demand religion you were likely taught about a punitive, narcissistic, abusive, or codependent god. In this discussion with fellow Deconstruction Coach, Kyle Bishop, we discuss some of the red flags of an abusive, narcissistic, or codependent god and how we were conditioned from a young age to enter into codependent relationships with this version of god. We further discuss how believing in this kind of god affects our sense of self worth and causes us to judge, criticize, and separate ourselves from others to help ourselves feel better.  We also talk about how we can take back our power through confronting and being honest about our shadow self, learning to look for validation from within instead of from outside sources (including god), and allowing ourselves to to let the parts of us that no longer serve us burn away. Kyle bravely talks about non-conventional tools, like psychedelics, to help us break down the subconscious barriers and begin to move grief and trauma through the body. ____________________________________________________________________________WANT MORE OF KYLE’S WORK? Contact him for a free 30-minute coaching session on his website www.BeyondGodAndReligion.com Or follow him on social media:Instagram @beyondgodandreligion TikTok @beyondgodandreligion Facebook @KyleGlenBishop _____________________________________________________________________________JOIN THE DISCUSSION If you’d like to be part of an online community where we take the podcast topics and pull them apart for discussion and further learning, talk about all the religious transition things, and just enjoy each other’s company, join my free “Emancipate Yourself” Facebook group at this link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/370375144009891 If you’d like more step-by-step assistance learning to feel safe in your body, reconnect with your emotions, and use that emotional connection to begin to reestablish a healthy sense of self,  check out the Emancipate Yourself App on Google Play in the Apple App Store. Or if you want to follow me for religious and psychological insights, commentary on events in the world, links to other people doing great work related to religion, and little windows into my real life, follow me on Instagram or Reddit @EmancipatedMolly , TikTok @EmancipatedTeri , or Twitter @EmancipatedTeri.  If you have a question or want to talk about further coaching support, please email me at teri@emancipatedcoaching.com