What do you do when life takes a turn you never asked for? When the diagnosis, the betrayal, the loss, or the slow unraveling of your plans leaves you feeling like the wrong person for the job?

In this deeply personal and compassionate episode, Dr. Zoe reads a letter to anyone facing a life they didn’t expect. Originally written for an anthology, this letter was adapted for anyone navigating life-changing pain, disorientation, or shame. Whether you’re in the midst of grief, struggling with a sudden shift in identity, or simply wondering how to move forward this episode is a lifeline.

You'll hear:

-Why shame, guilt, and blame aren't yours to carry
-How real bravery can look like breaking down, not holding it all together
-The truth about phantom critics and inner comparison
-A gentle invitation to stop fighting for the past and start building from the now
-Why acceptance isn’t giving up—it’s grieving forward

This is for the woman who is tired of pretending she’s fine. For the one who needs someone to say, “You are not broken.” For anyone who needs a breath, a moment, and a reminder: You’ve got this.

Resources & Links:

Sign up for the newsletter: www.drzoeshaw.com

Preorder the book Stronger in the Difficult Places (coming September 30, 2025!): drzoeshaw.com/book

Last call to join the Stronger in the Difficult Places Launch Team ( closing July 31st!): join now

Free Downloads:

Download the Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™ PDF: here
Get the First Chapter of Stronger in the Difficult Places: here

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it

Rate & Review:
If this episode moved you, helped you, or made you feel a little less alone, would you take a moment to leave a review? It helps more brave souls find this space of healing.

Why do so many women find themselves in relationships where they’re doing all the emotional labor? And what role does childhood—and especially the way we raise boys—play in this dynamic?

In today’s powerful episode, Dr. Gloria K. Vanderhorst joins me to unpack the lifelong impact of early emotional conditioning—particularly for boys. With over 50 years of experience working with individuals, families, and schools, Dr. Gloria brings deep insight into how our earliest experiences shape how we love, relate, and often repeat patterns without even realizing it.

We explore why boys are often taught to disconnect from their emotions, how that affects their adult relationships, and what it takes to change—even later in life. Whether you're parenting a son, partnered with an emotionally shut-down man, or healing from your own emotional inheritance, this episode will speak to your heart.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why early childhood memories—especially unconscious ones—still affect us today
• How boys are taught to lose touch with their emotions, and the cultural cost
• Why emotional labor often falls to women—and what we can do about it
• How Women condition men to emotionally abandon them
• The price we all pay for the emotional suppression of men
• How real change is possible at any age
• A practical framework for healing and self-awareness: Read, Reflect, Respond

About Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst:
Dr. Gloria K. Vanderhorst is a licensed psychologist and author of the best-selling book Read, Reflect, Respond: The 3 R’s of Growth and Change. With five decades of experience, she’s helped individuals of all ages understand how early experiences shape their present—and how to heal from trauma in order to grow.

Resources Mentioned:

Read, Reflect, Respond: The 3 R’s of Growth and Change by Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst – Available on Amazon

Connect with Dr. Gloria on her website or social media:
www.drvanderhorst.com
https://www.youtube.com/@gloriakvanderhorst
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloria-vanderhorst

Pre-order my book Stronger In The Difficult Places: drzoeshaw.com/book

Free Downloads:

Download the Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™ PDF: here
Get the First Chapter of Stronger in the Difficult Places: here

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website

What if anxiety wasn’t the enemy, but a signal? In this powerful episode, Dr. Zoe talks with psychotherapist and transformational coach Bonnie Brindle about why anxiety is just energy—and how to channel it instead of being ruled by it. Bonnie shares her own story of living with intense anxiety, what finally helped her break free, and the surprising way your energy system could be sabotaging your calm.

You’ll walk away with practical, empowering tools to regulate your nervous system before hard conversations, build internal trust, and quiet your mind when your relationship feels uncertain.

We Talk About:

• Why anxiety is just energy and how to move it through your body
• Simple tools to calm anxiety before a difficult conversation
• What to do when you don’t trust your partner—and how to separate truth from fear
• The #1 mistake people make when trying to “fix” their anxiety
• Bonnie’s personal journey of overcoming years of chronic anxiety
• How to spot and disarm “crazymakers” in your life
• Energy-based techniques that complement traditional therapy

About Our Guest:
Bonnie Brindle is The Anxiety Avenger™—a licensed psychotherapist, author, educator, transformational coach, and international speaker. She blends talk therapy with evidence-based energy practices to help clients shift out of survival mode and into self-trust and emotional freedom. Bonnie’s work is grounded in the belief that peace is possible for everyone—once you learn to decode the chaos.

Connect with Bonnie Brindle:
Website: www.bonniebrindle.com

Order a personalized copy of Bonnie's book, Cracking the Crazymakers’ Code
Receive Bonnie's bi-monthly newsletter, Musings from the Menagerie

Pre-order my book Stronger In The Difficult Places: drzoeshaw.com/book

Free Downloads:

Download the Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™ PDF: here
Get the First Chapter of Stronger in the Difficult Places: here

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website

Welcome back to Stronger in the Difficult Places. I’m your host, Dr. Zoe, and today we’re digging deep into a topic that hits close to home for so many women in difficult relationships: the difference between enmeshment, co-dependence, and healthy interdependence.

These patterns can be hard to recognize when they’re all you’ve ever known. Maybe you were taught that love means sacrifice. That closeness means never saying no. That boundaries are rejection. But the truth? Real love doesn’t require you to disappear.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The key differences between enmeshment and co-dependence
• How these dynamics show up in parent-child and romantic relationships
• Why emotional fusion is not the same as intimacy
• What healthy interdependence actually looks and feels like
• How to begin untangling your identity from someone else’s needs

This episode is for the woman who’s tired of losing herself in the name of love. Who wants connection — but not at the cost of her own soul. Who’s ready to set boundaries not out of anger, but out of clarity and care.

Remember:
We’re not fixing them. We’re fixing you. And that changes everything.

Pre-order my book Stronger In The Difficult Places: drzoeshaw.com/book

Free Downloads:

Download the Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™ PDF: here

Get the First Chapter of Stronger in the Difficult Places: here

Subscribe + Review:

If this episode spoke to your heart, please rate and review the show! It helps more women like you find the strength to get stronger in their difficult places.

New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit subscribe so you never miss a dose of truth, healing, and empowerment.

In this powerful episode, Dr. Zoe sits down with author and biblical life coach Dawn Ward to talk about the often-invisible toll that guilt, shame, and self-blame take on mothers of addicted children. Dawn shares how faith helped her move forward in her calling, even while her loved ones were still in the midst of their struggle. Together, they explore how trauma can keep us stuck, what it means to truly feel again, and how to reclaim peace without waiting for the perfect outcome.

Dawn Ward is an author, speaker, Bible teacher, and a certified biblical life coach. She is the founder of The Faith to Flourish, a ministry offering support and encouragement to women with addicted loved ones. She is married to Steve and mom to three adult children. Her book, From Guilt to Grace: Hope and Healing for Christian Moms of Addicted Children, published September 2024, is now available.

Connect with Dawn:

Website: www.thefaithtoflourish.com

Instagram: @thefaithtoflourishblog

Her Book: From Guilt to Grace: Hope and Healing for Christian Moms of Addicted Children: here

Free Downloads:

Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™: here

Share This Episode With:
A friend stuck in a confusing, painful relationship
Someone who keeps hoping for change but needs permission to take a breath
Any woman struggling to trust again—whether in their relationship, or in themselves

Subscribe + Review:
If this episode spoke to your heart, please rate and review the show! It helps more women like you find the strength to get stronger in their difficult places.

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website

Trust is the foundation of every healthy relationship—and when it breaks, it can feel like your world is unraveling. In this deeply honest and empowering episode, Dr. Zoe speaks to the woman who finds herself in the painful in-between: staying in a relationship with a partner she no longer fully trusts.

Whether the betrayal is emotional, financial, or physical—or the result of consistent minimization of your needs—Dr. Zoe shares five powerful steps to help you regain clarity, agency, and peace. This episode isn’t about making the decision to stay or leave. It’s about choosing you—your healing, your stability, your voice.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why radical honesty is the first step to healing
• How to detach your emotional stability from your partner’s behavior
• What clear, consequential boundaries actually sound like
• How to reclaim your agency instead of waiting for change
• Why grieving the loss of trust is necessary—before you can truly choose your next step

Free Downloads:

Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™: here

Get the First Chapter of Stronger in the Difficult Places: here

Join me in person at the HopeWriters Writing Retreat—a beautiful weekend designed to help you craft, connect, and confidently step into your calling. Sign up here

Share This Episode With:
A friend stuck in a confusing, painful relationship
Someone who keeps hoping for change but needs permission to take a breath
Any woman struggling to trust again—whether in their relationship, or in themselves

Subscribe + Review:
If this episode spoke to your heart, please rate and review the show! It helps more women like you find the strength to get stronger in their difficult places.

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website

If you’re feeling tired—but not just in your body, in your soul—this episode is for you.

Dr. Zoe sits down with Tracie Braylock, holistic nurse, educator, and author of Radical Relaxation: Releasing the Stress You Were Never Meant to Carry. Together, they unpack what “radical relaxation” really means (hint: it’s not about bubble baths) and why women especially need to redefine their relationship with rest.

We talk about:

• Why modern stress is more than just a lifestyle issue—it’s a spiritual and physiological one
• The difference between numbing out and true restoration
• How to recognize your stress signals before your body forces you to stop
• The role of boundaries in protecting your peace
• How Biblical wisdom and scientific research both point to the necessity of deep rest

Tracie brings her experience as a former operating room nurse and her current role as a writer with Proverbs 31 Ministries to offer grounded, compassionate insights for women who carry too much—and rest too little.

Take a deep breath, press play, and give yourself permission to stop striving and start receiving the rest your body and soul actually need.

Website: traciebraylock.com

Instagram: @traciebraylock

Book: Radical Relaxation: Releasing the Stress You Were Never Meant to Carry

Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™: here

Get the First Chapter of Stronger in the Difficult Places: here

Join me in person at the HopeWriters Writing Retreat—a beautiful weekend designed to help you craft, connect, and confidently step into your calling.
Sign up here

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website

Parenting doesn't end when your kids become adults—and neither does the complicated relationship we have with shame as parents. In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by family coach, former educator, and licensed mental health expert Anastasia Arauz to explore how shame weaves its way into our parenting, our family dynamics, and even into the lives of our adult children.

Anastasia brings her rich background in counseling, play therapy, and education to help us uncover the hidden ways shame impacts how we show up as parents—and more importantly, what we can do about it. Her work empowers moms to lead their families with love, clarity, and resilience, while also prioritizing their own well-being.

• How shame sneaks into your parenting even when you "know better"
• The connection between shame and unhealthy family dynamics
• Why our unhealed shame can unintentionally burden our children
• Practical steps to parent from a place of confidence instead of fear
• Strategies to break cycles of guilt, perfectionism, and self-criticism in parenting

Whether your children are toddlers, teenagers, or fully grown adults, it's never too late to examine how shame is operating in your family—and to make powerful shifts toward healthier, more joyful relationships.

• Website
• Instagram: @anastasiaju
• YouTube
• TikTok: @anastasia.arauz4
• LinkedIn

[Free Download] Steps to Healing from Complex Shame™: here

Join me in person at the HopeWriters Writing Retreat—a beautiful weekend designed to help you craft, connect, and confidently step into your calling. Sign up here

Connect with me:

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram

Dr. Zoe Shaw on Facebook

Dr. Zoe Shaw Website