Your Secret Is Safe With Me

Navigating relationships can be tricky, especially when personal desires are unclear. Self-reflection is key to understanding what you truly want. Dr. Marie Murphy shares powerful coaching exercises to help identify your priorities. Responsibility for happiness lies with you, not your partner. Gain insights into your boundaries and motives, and learn how to improve your relationship dynamics. With clarity on what satisfies you, you can positively influence not just your current relationship but future ones as well.

Gina Frangello, a renowned author known for her memoir 'Blow Your House Down,' shares her compelling journey through infidelity and self-discovery. She discusses how affairs can serve as escapes but ultimately lead to deeper challenges in identity and relationships. Frangello explores the societal stigmas faced by middle-aged women, emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance and the courage to confront painful choices. The conversation touches on navigating marital complexities and reframing women's sexual health, urging listeners to embrace authenticity amidst chaos.

Heartbreak can be devastating. And, it's not just the loss of the relationship itself that is so painful — there are also messy feelings involved with the practicalities of untangling your life from someone else's. So how do you move forward in a healthy way? Is there a technique for transforming your pain into something better? According to Breakup Coach Dorothy Johnson, you can turn your pain into power with the right tools and perspectives. As she says, your internal beliefs are much stronger than your external circumstances. So, if you believe that things are going to improve, you have the power to change your situation and create a healthier and happier future for yourself. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Marie Murphy sits down with Breakup Coach Dorothy Johnson to talk about heartbreak and healing. Together, they explore the difference between attachment and commitment, the logistical and financial aspects of recovering from a breakup, and how to begin the healing process. Plus, Dorothy discusses co-parenting and why the no-contact rule isn't the answer for everyone. Stay tuned!

Unfortunately, sexuality and shame frequently go hand-in-hand, and religion's messages about sex may be partially to blame. Even if you aren't religious, you can still be affected by the messages that have seeped into society — such as the ideas that masturbation is bad or pleasure is wrong. So, how can you overcome these problematic frameworks and rewire your relationship to sex? As a Sexual-Spiritual Advisor, Melissa Hite helps her clients reframe their sexual response cycles and embrace their natural sexuality. As she says, you can't suppress sexual energy; it's a part of who you are. But, religious messages can cause this energy to become distorted and lead to harmful feelings like shame. Fortunately, Melissa has some strategies for rewiring the beliefs and patterns that are causing you harm. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Marie Murphy talks with Melissa Hite, the Founder and Sexual-Spiritual Advisor at Higher Sex Education, about the intersection of religion, sexuality, shame, and healing. Melissa explains the complicated problems that can arise from religious messages about sex and shares her tips for reframing your beliefs and embracing your natural sexuality. Plus, Melissa discusses her 12-week course about mastering boundaries. Stay tuned!

Wanting relief from uncomfortable feelings doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. In fact, it's a natural, human response. However, it's important to determine whether you're actually dealing with your discomfort or simply avoiding it. As Dr. Marie Murphy says, the short-term satisfaction you find through avoiding uncomfortable feelings is typically outweighed by long-term consequences. But, many people aren't taught how to deal with discomfort in a constructive way. That's where Dr. Murphy comes in. She has the tools and strategies you need to increase your capacity to tolerate discomfort without numbing your feelings or looking for a distraction, such as an affair. With her help, you can gain more control over your decisions and improve the relationships you have with others and yourself. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Marie Murphy discusses the complicated relationship between discomfort, drama, and infidelity. Dr. Murphy explores the various ways people respond to discomfort, the consequences of avoiding your feelings, and the appeal of drama and infidelity as a form of distraction. Plus, Dr. Murphy shares some helpful questions you can ask yourself if you're currently having an affair. Stay tuned!

What does it mean to have good sex? Has science uncovered the truth about what feeds desire? And, is there a way to redefine your understanding of sexuality and rekindle a positive sexual relationship with your partner? According to Dr. Barry McCarthy, sexuality consists of three components: intimacy, pleasure, and eroticism. For a healthy sexual relationship to exist, those components need to be balanced and approached with realistic expectations. So, how can you start having better sex today? Dr. McCarthy suggests that instead of viewing sex as a pass or fail experience, couples should work on finding their own unique sexual style — one that feels good for everyone involved. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Barry McCarthy joins Dr. Marie Murphy to talk about what "good enough sex" actually means. Dr. McCarthy reveals some surprising statistics about sex and relationships and explains how shifting your perspective can awaken a happier and healthier sexual relationship. He also shares his advice for rekindling desire with your partner. Stay tuned!

When a couple relocates for one person's job, it can be difficult to adjust to the new circumstances. Yael Haklai-Neagu, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, knows from first-hand experience just how challenging that process can be. When she moved to the United States for her partner's job 16 years ago, she had to overcome a number of difficulties — including the extra stress the relocation placed on her relationship. According to Yael, the individual who moves for their partner's job (also known as the trailing spouse) has two challenges to overcome: grieving the loss of what they left behind and learning to recreate themselves in their new circumstances. In this way, relocation has a lot in common with other types of transitions that couples face, including infidelity. In one situation, the relocation is physical; in the other, the journey is carried out mentally and emotionally. However, in both cases you're faced with a choice: do you stay or go? In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Marie Murphy talks with Yael Haklai-Neagu, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Board Certified Hypnotherapist, about how to navigate complex transitions in relationships. Yael talks about her experience moving to the United States for her partner's job, the choices that helped her find her own path, and what that experience has in common with infidelity. Plus, Yael shares how hypnotherapy can help you find a clearer perspective.

How can you lower your levels of anxiety, stress, and negativity? Is it possible to change how you feel by changing the way that you think? And, can you improve your relationships by learning how to be more present? According to Dr. Richard Gold, mindfulness and meditation are the keys to relieving your stress, boosting your mood, and even improving your relationships. He suggests that by changing how you think about your circumstances, you can affect psychological changes and form new pathways in your brain. This means that you can start creating new, meaningful relationships with yourself and others by learning to shift your focus and stay grounded in the present moment. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Richard Gold, the President and Executive Producer of Metta Mindfulness Music and the Co-founder of the Pacific College of Health and Science, joins Dr. Marie Murphy to discuss the psychological benefits of mindfulness, meditation, and music. Dr. Gold shares how you can start making psychological changes using meditation, the important ways mindfulness can impact your relationships, and his tips for finding your way out of a rut. Stay tuned!

Dealing with the loss of any relationship can be difficult, and the end of an affair is no different. However, because of the secretive and taboo nature of infidelity, navigating the emotional aftermath can be confusing and lonely — especially if there's nowhere to turn for support. So, how can you manage that lingering sadness and find the right path forward? If you're looking for a better way to deal with your emotions after an affair, Dr. Marie Murphy suggests that you begin by changing how you think about it. As she says, you don't have to change your situation in order to reframe how it affects you. And, according to Dr. Murphy, when you learn how to rethink your narrative, you gain the power to turn even the most painful situations into opportunities for growth and transformation. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Marie Murphy discusses how to navigate the emotional aftermath of ending an affair. Dr. Murphy explains how the end of an affair can result in disenfranchised grief, why over-analyzing your feelings can lead you off course, and what you can do to regain the power to move forward. Plus, Dr. Murphy shares how to determine if ending the affair was the right decision for you. Stay tuned.

Leaving a bad relationship can be scary when you don't have the resources to support yourself on your own. But, figuring out how to manage your finances is only part of the equation. Dealing with your emotional entanglements with money can be just as challenging as you work to get yourself back on track—and prepare for future relationships. This was especially true for Financial Coach Christine Luken, who had to deal with the painful financial aftermath of leaving a seven-year relationship. That experience taught her a lesson that her accounting classes never covered: emotions play a massive role in finances. Now, Christine helps her clients navigate their emotional relationship with money and improve the ways they handle finances in and out of their romantic partnerships. In this episode of Your Secret is Safe With Me, Dr. Marie Murphy sits down with Christine Luken, the Founder of the Financial Dignity® Movement, to discuss the often-overlooked relationship between emotions and money. Christine discusses the financial fallout she experienced from her past relationship, the challenges of her emotional and financial recovery, and the tactics she uses to help clients break free from the money shame cycle. Stay tuned!