What do you do when someone you love keeps using emotional blunt force instead of listening? When the men in your life still believe criticism is caring, or that dominance equals dialogue?

In this week’s episode, we sit with two brave women learning how to communicate with men who are still playing by old, outdated rules where vulnerability is weakness, power is control, and connection gets sacrificed for the illusion of authority.

We explore what it means to keep our hearts open without abandoning ourselves, to name what hurts without making someone wrong, and to build bridges without betraying our own inner truth. You’ll hear real-life moments, fresh language to try, and permission to stop performing “good girl” energy just to keep the peace.

In this raw and real episode, two women ask:

How do I stay in connection with someone who keeps hurting me?

Why do I freeze or fawn when I know better?

SHOW NOTES:

• Why old-school masculinity often shows up as dismissal, control, or withdrawal
• How women often internalize the pressure to stay sweet, silent, and obedient
• What to say (and not say) when our boundaries are being ignored
• The art of exiting a conversation with grace and power
• How to bring “bad girl” energy back into wholeness

This episode is for anyone tired of talking to a wall, and ready to start listening to themselves.

🎧 Tune in now, and reclaim your voice, your power, and your peace.

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me this summer as I host my Inner Grounding Summer Series. We'll explore strengthening inner sovereignty, centering hope, and choosing truth over comfort.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at: https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

You pulled away. They’re still mad. Now what? In this raw and deeply human episode, we unpack exactly what to say—and how to stay grounded—when you’re ready to reconnect after silence, space, or rupture.

Whether you were isolated by trauma or just needed room to breathe, this episode offers repair scripts, emotional insights, and the one mindset shift that changes everything.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•How to craft a heartfelt message to reconnect after distance

•What to say when your friend is still angry (without getting defensive)

•A reframe for “running away” that honors your healing

•How to stay open when shame, fear, or guilt try to take over

•The difference between apologizing and collapsing

•What to do if the conversation doesn’t go how you hoped

You’ll hear real-time coaching with two community members navigating:

•Friendship rupture and reconciliation

•Emotional honesty without self-erasure

•The courage it takes to rebuild trust—step by step

Whether you’re the one who stepped away or the one left wondering why, this conversation is a masterclass in emotional maturity, repair, and self-responsibility.

🎧 Listen now—and don’t miss the closing tools to stay steady when the stakes feel high.

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me this summer as I host my Inner Grounding Summer Series. We'll explore strengthening inner sovereignty, centering hope, and choosing truth over comfort.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at: https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

Ever find yourself carrying someone else’s emotional backpack… and wondering why your shoulders hurt?

Today we unpack four real-life questions about emotional boundaries, relational burnout, and the art of letting go of what was never yours to hold. You’ll hear raw, relatable stories, from being exiled from a beloved community group, to walking away from a relationship where you were doing all the emotional heavy lifting, to healing a strained mother-daughter dynamic, and navigating triggering conversations around money.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• “Am I responsible for fixing this?”
• “How do I honor my limits without hurting someone else?”
• “Why do I feel so hooked right now?”

…this episode offers guidance, clarity, and a whole lot of compassion.

You’ll learn:

• Why fixing is disapproval
• How to set a boundary without bracing for a fight
• A script for naming recurring patterns without activating defensiveness
• What to say when someone demands emotional labor you can’t give
• Why your triggers might be invitations (not threats)

Come for the aha moments, stay for the soul-soothing reframes. This one’s a deep dive into the messy, brave work of staying rooted in yourself—especially when it would be easier to collapse, comply, or control.

A Special Offer for My Podcast Listeners:

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me this summer as I host my Inner Grounding Summer Series. We'll explore strengthening inner sovereignty, centering hope, and choosing truth over comfort.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at: https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me on Thursday, May 29th as I host The Soft Revolution Begins With You: Living Love As Daily Resistance. This FREE webinar will explore how to stay rooted in love when the world feels harsh, broken, or chaotic and what it means to live your values as a form of daily resistance. Sign up today!

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

This tender and deeply resonant episode follows a heartfelt question from listener Cathy: Do I keep talking to my brother, even after all the harm he’s caused?

What unfolds is an intimate exploration of how to stay rooted in our own integrity when we’re torn between love and protection, compassion and accountability, connection and boundaries. We dive into how to love someone clearly, without collapsing into enabling, appeasing, or pretending.

Cathy shares the painful complexity of loving a sibling who’s caused irreversible harm - some unethical, some illegal - and the grief of wanting connection without pretending the pain never happened.

Warning: Strong language is used, so be careful if little ones are listening in!

📝 Shownotes:

• Do you have to forgive to love someone again? (Minute 12)
• What to say when someone you love won’t take responsibility (Minute 20)
• The difference between “enabling” and “accepting” (Minute 27)
• A real-life script to stay honest and kind (Minute 35)
• How to protect your inner child in hard family relationships (Minute 41)
• Why punitive force backfires - and what to do instead (Minute 50)

This episode is a masterclass in the art of loving honestly, and in choosing relationship without gaslighting yourself.

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me this summer as I host my Inner Grounding Summer Series. We'll explore strengthening inner sovereignty, centering hope, and choosing truth over comfort.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at: https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

What if your fiercest judgments were just misplaced devotion?

In this raw and revealing episode, we unpack those charged moments when your love for truth and justice gets mistaken for criticism or control. When your “I just want to help” lands more like “You’re doing it wrong.” And when your longing to belong collides with your need to speak up.

Two powerful stories unfold in this episode: One about a moment of regret after calling out a fellow trainer in a large group, and another about getting kicked out of a recovery meeting… for being too disruptive.

But underneath it all? The same longing: to be seen, heard, and held in our full humanity.

💥 Warning: This episode may stir up old wounds. But it also offers hope, tools, and a path to healing. Also, be aware that we sometimes use spicy language so be careful if any little ones are listening, too.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why your “judgmental” moments might be rooted in love - not criticism
• What to do when you speak from truth but it lands all wrong
• The real difference between empathy and commiseration (and how we often get it twisted)
• What happens when you get banned from a recovery group… and why it’s not the end of your story
• How to apologize without collapsing or giving your power away
• A powerful reframe for those moments when you think, “Ugh, I did it again…”

✨ Whether you’re the one who blurted out too fast, or the one retreating into silence after conflict, this episode will help you find your way back - to yourself, to others, and to what really matters.

🎧 Listen now if you’ve ever:

• Regretted your tone but stood by your message
• Felt like the “too much” one in the group
• Wanted to show up with integrity and connection
• Longed for a do-over, but didn’t know how to start

Resources Mentioned:

Free Communication Starter Kit

Join the Conversations from the Heart Membership for live support and community

Subscribe on YouTube

👉 Like this episode? Share it with someone who’s navigating a relational repair of their own. And remember: you’re allowed to be a work in progress and a force for good.

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me this summer as I host my Inner Grounding Summer Series. We'll explore strengthening inner sovereignty, centering hope, and choosing truth over comfort.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at: https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

Ever felt torn between staying true to yourself and keeping the peace in your relationships? In this episode, we walk with three courageous guests as they navigate the messy middle of relational repair, where heartbreak, hope, and healing often collide.

Throughout the episode, I offer grounded coaching and relational insight, modeling how to make peace with not getting your way, how to advocate without attachment, and how to hold your truth with both gentleness and strength.

Plus, I share my favorite Marshall Rosenberg quote that gives us all permission to show up imperfectly.

The big insight? Sometimes, the conversation is less about the thing and more about the way we talk about it. Tune in to learn how to shift from “I need you to agree with me” to “Can we co-create a process where we both matter?”

Key Questions Explored

• What do I do when I want something deeply - but no one else agrees?
• How can I reconnect with someone after months or years of silence?
• How do I set boundaries with people who steamroll my needs?
• What if honoring myself means disappointing people I love?

Listener Takeaways/Show Notes

• A step-by-step process for advocating without demanding
• How to hold space for grief when connection doesn’t go as hoped
• The “thermometer tool” to surface hidden family dynamics
• Language to use when you’re overwhelmed but still want to show up
• How to shift from self-judgment to healthy regret when you’re not perfect

Listen for heart-centered coaching, clear language templates, and real-life examples of relational courage.

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me this summer as I host my Inner Grounding Summer Series. We'll explore strengthening inner sovereignty, centering hope, and choosing truth over comfort.

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Get 20% off your annual NVC Library subscription using the code YVETTENVCLIBRARY at checkout at: https://nvcacademy.com/registration/signup/nvc-library

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus

Ever spiraled into shame because of one tiny mistake? Or replayed a text convo with a ghoster, trying to decode what you did wrong? You’re not alone, and you’re not broken.

In this vulnerable and uplifting episode, Tiffany and Patrice bring raw questions to the table, and I offer some insights into how we talk to ourselves when we feel abandoned, rejected, or ashamed.

This one’s for every tender-hearted human who’s been too hard on themselves - and who’s ready for something softer, wiser, and more freeing.

We discuss:

• 1:10 Opening thoughts
• 2:33 How a wrong phone number on a business card led to a spiral of shame - and the exact steps to stop that spiral mid-spin.
• 11:34 Two strategies in the moment of stress: pause, and name what's happening
• 12:05 Why reclaiming the word “stupid” could be the most liberating thing you do all week.
• 19:52 What ghosting actually tells you about someone - and how it might be the kindest exit you didn’t ask for.
• 25:47 A note on goodness of fit and how it can enable choicefulness
• 33:19 Comments from the audience
• 45:30 Closing thoughts

Feeling overwhelmed with the current state of the world? You're not alone, and I can help. Join me on Thursday, May 29th as I host The Soft Revolution Begins With You: Living Love As Daily Resistance. This FREE webinar will explore how to stay rooted in love when the world feels harsh, broken, or chaotic and what it means to live your values as a form of daily resistance. Sign up today!

For ongoing practice and deeper learning, join my monthly membership program. You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.

Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.

Here are more ways to connect with me:

• Become a member of my online learning community
• Join our calls live
• Set up a private session
• Follow me on TikTok @dr.yvetteerasmus