Relationships Made Easy

Have you ever felt guilty for wanting space? Like needing a little distance from someone you love means something is wrong with you, or with the relationship? Or maybe you've watched someone you're dating and thought, "Why does their family seem to know everything about everything and have an opinion on all of it?" What you might be looking at, in both cases, is enmeshment. Today we're talking about what enmeshment actually is, how to recognize it in yourself and in the people around you, and why the line between being close and being enmeshed matters more than most people realize. I'll give you the signs across romantic relationships, family dynamics, and friendships, including what to watch out for if you're dating someone from an enmeshed family. And I'll give you tools to start untangling it without blowing up the relationships that matter to you.
____________________________
Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/enmeshment-in-relationships
Get the quick self-assessment called Am I Enmeshed or Just Close? It'll walk you through the key questions to help you figure out what's actually going on in your most important relationships: https://abbymedcalf.com/am-i-enmeshed
Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack
You'll get...
✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes
✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations
✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby
_________
 Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! 
https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/ 
👉 Pick up a copy of my new book, Boundaries Made Easy: Your Roadmap to Connection, Ease and Joy: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries 
👉 Pick up The Workbook: Boundaries Made Easier to use as a companion to the book or as a standalone masterclass: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries-workbook
👉 Buy my #1 bestselling book on Amazon, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing: https://abbymedcalf.com/book 
____________________________
Looking for past episodes of the Relationships Made Easy Podcast? Head over to https://abbymedcalf.com/podcast-the-archives where you’ll find past episodes.
Ready to dig deeper? Take one of my online courses (some are FREE!) or grab a workbook: https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
A great idea to stay motivated and keep your head in a positive direction is to buy some of my fabulous, inspirational merchandise. Get yourself a t-shirt, mug, tote bag or notebook with that daily reminder that you’ve got this! https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
Say hello on social:
Substack: https://substack.com/@abbymedcalfphd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbymedcalfthriving
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbymedcalfthriving
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abbymedcalfphd 
YouTube: https://abbymedcalf.com/youtube

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You’ve tried unfollowing people, making gratitude lists, staying in your own lane. And you still compare yourself to others. So what gives? You can’t stop comparing because you were never supposed to, and comparison isn’t a bad habit you can decide to quit. It’s a cognitive function, and you can’t opt out of cognitive functions. Every piece of advice that tells you to just stop is working against your own brain, which is exactly why it never sticks.
Today you’ll learn why comparison is hardwired into you, why the standard advice fails, why some people get pulled into it more painfully than others, and the specific shifts that actually make a difference.
____________________________
Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/why-you-cant-stop-comparing-yourself-to-others
Download the What Is This Comparison Really Telling You? Worksheet that walks you through identifying your own comparison triggers, what they’re actually pointing at, and how to redirect when the spiral starts: https://abbymedcalf.com/what-is-this-comparison
Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack.
You'll get...
✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes
✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations
✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby
_________
 Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! 
https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/ 
👉 Pick up a copy of my new book, Boundaries Made Easy: Your Roadmap to Connection, Ease and Joy: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries
👉 Pick up The Workbook: Boundaries Made Easier to use as a companion to the book or as a standalone masterclass: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries-workbook
👉 Buy my #1 bestselling book on Amazon, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing: https://abbymedcalf.com/book 
____________________________
Looking for past episodes of the Relationships Made Easy Podcast? Head over to https://abbymedcalf.com/podcast-the-archives where you’ll find past episodes.
Ready to dig deeper? Take one of my online courses (some are FREE!) or grab a workbook: https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
Say hello on social:
Substack: https://substack.com/@abbymedcalfphd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbymedcalfthriving
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbymedcalfthriving
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abbymedcalfphd 
YouTube: https://abbymedcalf.com/youtube

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You're doing fine. Really. You've got work handled, the relationship seems okay, you've moved on from that fight or that disappointment, and you're not thinking about it anymore. Except, you kind of are. You just don't know it yet. That's what compartmentalization does: it doesn't actually clear your feelings away. It boxes them up and slides them onto a shelf so you can keep functioning. And that shelf? It fills up. Stay with me, because today we're going to talk about what compartmentalization actually is, why your brain learned to do it, what it costs you in relationships, and what you can do to start clearing those shelves before they collapse.
_________
Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/compartmentalization-in-relationships 
Download the Self-Assessment, Am I Compartmentalizing? https://abbymedcalf.com/compartmentalizing-assessment
Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack.
You'll get...
✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes
✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations
✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby
_________
Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! 
https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/ 
👉 Pick up a copy of my new book, Boundaries Made Easy: Your Roadmap to Connection, Ease and Joy: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries
👉 Pick up The Workbook: Boundaries Made Easier to use as a companion to the book or as a standalone masterclass: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries-workbook 
👉 Buy my #1 bestselling book on Amazon, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing: https://abbymedcalf.com/book 
____________________________
Looking for past episodes of the Relationships Made Easy Podcast? Head over to https://abbymedcalf.com/podcast-the-archives where you’ll find past episodes
Ready to dig deeper? Take one of my online courses (some are FREE!) or grab a workbook: https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
A great idea to stay motivated and keep your head in a positive direction is to buy some of my fabulous, inspirational merchandise. Get yourself a t-shirt, mug, tote bag or notebook with that daily reminder that you’ve got this! https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
Say hello on social:
Substack: https://substack.com/@abbymedcalfphd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbymedcalfthriving
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbymedcalfthriving
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abbymedcalfphd 
YouTube: https://abbymedcalf.com/youtube

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You probably know what an ACE is. Adverse Childhood Experience. Trauma, instability, the things that happened to you that you didn't deserve and couldn't control. Researchers have spent decades documenting how those early experiences affect your brain, your nervous system, your relationships, and your health decades later.
But there's a side of that research that almost nobody talks about, and it may be the most hopeful thing I've ever read: the science of what protected you. Or would have. Or still can. There are seven specific childhood experiences, what researchers now call Positive Childhood Experiences or PCEs, that have been found to dramatically reduce the lifelong impact of adversity, even severe adversity. And the most important finding isn't just about kids. It's about you, right now.
In this episode, you're going to learn what those seven experiences are, how to figure out which ones were missing from your childhood, and most importantly, the research-backed ways adults can actually build what they didn't get.
____________________________
Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/positive-childhood-experiences-healing-adults
Download the My PCE Profile, a self-assessment that walks you through each of the seven positive childhood experiences: https://abbymedcalf.com/pce-profile
Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack.
You'll get...
✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes
✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations
✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby
_________
Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! 
https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/  
👉 Pick up a copy of my new book, Boundaries Made Easy: Your Roadmap to Connection, Ease and Joy: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries
👉 Pick up The Workbook: Boundaries Made Easier to use as a companion to the book or as a standalone masterclass: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries-workbook
👉 Buy my #1 bestselling book on Amazon, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing: https://abbymedcalf.com/book 
____________________________
Looking for past episodes of the Relationships Made Easy Podcast? Head over to https://abbymedcalf.com/podcast-the-archives where you’ll find past episodes.
Ready to dig deeper? Take one of my online courses (some are FREE!) or grab a workbook: https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
A great idea to stay motivated and keep your head in a positive direction is to buy some of my fabulous, inspirational merchandise. Get yourself a t-shirt, mug, tote bag or notebook with that daily reminder that you’ve got this! https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
Say hello on social:
Substack: https://substack.com/@abbymedcalfphd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbymedcalfthriving
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbymedcalfthriving
YouTube: https://abbymedcalf.com/youtube

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You snapped at your partner over something small, and you already know it wasn't really about that. You've gotten defensive with your mom, shut down with your boss, pulled away from a friend, and each time there's that same moment afterward where you think: why did I react like that? The shame of it is exhausting. And the confusing part is that you can't always explain it, even to yourself.
Today I'm giving you a new lens, not a replacement for everything you already know about yourself, but something more precise. Because there's a difference between knowing you got triggered and knowing exactly which need just got threatened. And that precision? It changes what you do next.
____________________________
Full blog and show notes: https://abbymedcalf.com/why-you-overreact-in-relationships
Download the Need Threat Identifier: https://abbymedcalf.com/need-threat-identifier. It walks you through all three needs, what a threat to each one looks and feels like across different relationships, and the one question to ask yourself when you feel activated.
Join my online community, One Love Collective, on Substack: https://abbymedcalf.com/substack.
You'll get...
✨ Early drops + ad-free podcast episodes
✨ Worksheets, journal prompts, downloads, and guided visualizations
✨ Community chats and live Q&A calls with Abby
_________
 Subscribe to the Love Letter and get my little messages each week! 
https://abbymedcalf.com/loveletter-opt-in/ 
👉 Pick up a copy of my new book, Boundaries Made Easy: Your Roadmap to Connection, Ease and Joy: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries
👉 Pick up The Workbook: Boundaries Made Easier to use as a companion to the book or as a standalone masterclass: https://abbymedcalf.com/boundaries-workbook
👉 Buy my #1 bestselling book on Amazon, Be Happily Married: Even If Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing: https://abbymedcalf.com/book 
____________________________
Looking for past episodes of the Relationships Made Easy Podcast? Head over to https://abbymedcalf.com/podcast-the-archives where you’ll find past episodes.
Ready to dig deeper? Take one of my online courses (some are FREE!) or grab a workbook: https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
A great idea to stay motivated and keep your head in a positive direction is to buy some of my fabulous, inspirational merchandise. Get yourself a t-shirt, mug, tote bag or notebook with that daily reminder that you’ve got this! https://abbymedcalf.com/shop
Say hello on social:
Substack: https://substack.com/@abbymedcalfphd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbymedcalfthriving
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/abbymedcalfthriving
YouTube: https://abbymedcalf.com/youtube

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy