You Make Sense

You’ll also learn the confusing or contradictory ways your nervous system may react when experiencing safe love for the first time and tangible steps you can take to begin finding more ease, trust, and safety in your relationships. Listen in for a compassionate and honest guide on what to expect when entering a close relationship and how to filter out social media advice that lacks nuance.
Episode Highlights:
• [00:00] Introduction
• [02:58] How childhood trauma affects intimate relationships
• [06:54] A breakdown of what ‘roads of familiarity’ are
• [10:15] Using somatic parts work to prepare for healthy relationships
• [15:08] What the ‘road of your deepest desire’ is
• [20:01] Building your capacity to receive safe love
• [22:23] How these concepts relate to your attachment style
• [30:33] Why your parts and nervous system need disconfirming experiences
• [37:16] Question 1 – Why do misunderstandings alway turn into big fights?
• [45:44] Question 2 – How do I stop caretaking my partner?
• [50:40] Question 3 – How do relationships impact the state of my nervous system?
RSVP for Sarah’s FREE Live Training:
Ready to take the next step on your healing journey? Nervous System Starter Kit is a FREE 75-minute live training to help you regulate your nervous system, understand your attachment style from a somatic lens, and get into the driver’s seat of your experience.
Click below to save your spot (replay available for a limited time):
https://bit.ly/sp-nssk
NOW ENROLLING — Join Sarah’s Revamped 16-Week Program:
Ready for tools to heal every area of your life? You Make Sense is a completely redesigned 16-week live program that goes far beyond these weekly podcast episodes to give you powerful somatic exercises and resources to address your nervous system, relationships, younger parts, purpose, boundaries, grief, and more!
Join before the doors close on November 18:
https://bit.ly/sp-yms
Connect with Sarah on:
Email Community — bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter
Instagram — instagram.com/sarahbcoaching
Website — sarahbaldwincoaching.com
Submit a Question:
sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
Quotes:
“When we don’t have the proper information that’s actually backed by science, we can end up going down the wrong roads of our lives.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:02:21]
“Even though those painful patterns of the past that we tend to repeat relationally cause us some pain, they are known, and that’s why we are drawn to them.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:08:37]
“We have to build the capacity to receive the good. You see, your nervous system only has the capacity for what it knows. – So when you receive that beautiful, healthy love, your system says: ‘It’s too much!’” — Sarah Baldwin [0:20:01]
“If a relationship is right for you and you have experienced a blueprint in the past of love not being secure and full and not just breadcrumbs, then it’s going to be very challenging at first, and so, you’re going to feel dysregulated.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:21:27]

Reflecting on her own experiences of pushing people away, Sarah unpacks how understanding the younger parts behind our decisions can help us replace self-punishment with compassion. She also discusses the importance of grieving what we've lost or never received, using the metaphor of pruning a rosebush to show how loss can make room for new growth. Listen in to discover how understanding your past can help you move beyond regret and open yourself to the life still waiting for you.
Episode Highlights:
• [00:00] Introduction
• [00:49] How regret can keep you stuck in shame and self-blame
• [07:52] Why regret usually happens after an experience ends
• [12:17] Sarah's experience of pushing away people who tried to love her
• [15:10] Understanding the protective parts behind self-sabotage
• [20:13] How younger protective parts can drive decisions you later regret
• [24:28] Exploring the protective patterns behind your own regrets
• [29:07] Reparenting your younger parts with compassion
• [38:15] Why grieving the past makes room for new experiences
• [43:08] Question 1 - How do I heal shame and regret over decisions I made because of childhood trauma?
• [48:54] Question 2 - How do I keep believing in the life I want when healing takes so long?
• [55:05] Question 3 - Does somatic completion need to be repeated to fully resolve trauma?
Join the 3-Day Expansion Experience:
​​You know you’re meant for more — so why does moving toward it feel harder than it should? Inside Expansion, Sarah is going to give you science-backed tools to help you regulate your nervous system, support your younger parts, and take tangible steps toward the life you want.
RSVP now for only $37:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-ee
Take Sarah’s FREE Quiz:
Feeling stuck in your life? Not sure where to start with somatic healing? Sarah’s free quiz, “What’s Keeping You Stuck,” will equip you with free tools and a personalized guide to better understand your nervous system specific to you.
Click below to get started:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-quiz
Connect with Sarah on:
Email Community — bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter
Instagram — instagram.com/sarahbcoaching
Website — sarahbaldwincoaching.com
Submit a Question:
sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
Quotes:
“I spent the majority of my life, unfortunately, pushing away the people that tried to love me the most.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:12:47]
“There are protective parts of you whose sole job is to ensure that the vulnerable part they protect never, ever, ever experiences the pain you experienced in the past again.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:15:50]
“[Your protective parts] don't want to blow up your life. They don't want to make things fall apart for you. They most certainly don't want you to miss opportunities in your life.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:22:42]
“Remember, it's not adult you doing [these things]. It's a younger part that is just trying to protect a vulnerable part of you.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:24:19]
“I'm walking you through this because I want you to actually feel the empathy for your younger parts and what you've been doing unintentionally to them.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:32:23]
“Grief means being with what was and also what never was, which makes room for what can be.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:39:20]

You’ll also learn three key components of expansion: working with your nervous system, understanding trauma feedback loops, and becoming the adult self or warrior your younger parts need. Rather than forcing change through insight or willpower, Sarah explains why healing involves showing the body that what was once dangerous can now be safe, one tolerable step at a time. Listen in to learn how working with your nervous system and protective parts can help you move toward the life you want.
Episode Highlights:
• [00:00] Introduction
• [00:42] Why every living thing wants to be fully expressed
• [02:27] What blocks you from becoming more fully yourself
• [10:46] Why healing is part of expanding into the life you want
• [12:44] Three components of living an expanded life
• [17:26] #1: The nervous system as the foundation for expansion
• [28:12] #2: Understanding roads of familiarity and trauma feedback loops
• [31:17] #3: Becoming the adult self your younger parts need
• [36:08] Taking tolerable steps toward the life you want
• [40:39] Question 1 - How do I balance purpose, relationships, and other parts of life?
• [45:19] Question 2 - Can trauma be healed when you cannot consciously remember it?
• [51:13] Question 3 - How do I navigate childhood trauma while caring for an ailing parent?
Join the 3-Day Expansion Experience:
​​You know you’re meant for more — so why does moving toward it feel harder than it should? Inside Expansion, Sarah is going to give you science-backed tools to help you regulate your nervous system, support your younger parts, and take tangible steps toward the life you want.
RSVP now for only $37:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-ee
Download Sarah’s FREE Workbook:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-workbook
Connect with Sarah on:
Email Community — bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter
Instagram — instagram.com/sarahbcoaching
Website — sarahbaldwincoaching.com
Submit a Question:
sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
Quotes:
“We don't heal just to heal. We heal so that we can be us.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:11:44]
“The life you want [is] for you, and it's our healing that gets us there.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:12:49]
“We need to overall bring regulation to our nervous system, and we need to show it, not tell it, that the things that were once dangerous are now safe.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:25:58]
“Our nervous system and our protective parts are saying, ‘Here is how I know how to navigate life and be safe.’ Because remember, their priority is not you living your full expanded life. Their priority is you surviving.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:29:42]
“Adult you is the only one that can lead the way into the expanded life you are here to live.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:33:50]

Real transformation begins not with willpower but with a felt sense of internal safety. Drawing on Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Experiencing, and Parts Work, Sarah shares tangible tools to help you shift from survival mode to genuine ease. Join Sarah to discover how regulation transforms not only your mindset but your entire lived experience, one safe, grounded moment at a time.
Episode Highlights:
• [00:00] Introduction
• [02:07] The connection between dysregulation and negativity
• [02:39] Understanding the six states of the nervous system
• [04:30] Why the nervous system is hardwired for survival
• [06:52] Neuroception and your orientation to the world
• [10:15] Your nervous system shapes your thinking
• [18:01] Working with your parts to find more ease and inner peace
• [26:31] Somatic tools to begin orienting toward the positive
• [37:50] Question 1: Understanding what regulation really means
• [46:10] Question 2: Why feedback triggers negative responses
• [54:40] Question 3: Healing the scarcity mindset surrounding money
Get on the Waitlist for Sarah’s 16-Week Program:
Ready for tools to heal every area of your life? You Make Sense is a 16-week live program that goes far beyond these weekly podcast episodes to give you powerful somatic exercises and resources to address your nervous system, relationships, younger parts, purpose, boundaries, grief, and more!
Click below to get on the waitlist for limited-time reduced pricing:
https://bit.ly/sp-yms-waitlist
Connect with Sarah on:
Email Community — bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter
Instagram — instagram.com/sarahbcoaching
Website — sarahbaldwincoaching.com
Download Sarah’s FREE Workbook:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-workbook
Submit a Question
sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast

Sarah goes on to explain the difference between being a narcissist and having an avoidant attachment. While they can sometimes appear similar from the outside, avoidant partners have a deep desire for connection but often push it away out of self-protection. Listen in for a nuanced understanding of attachment wounding and how to find clarity on your own relational dynamics.
Episode Highlights:
• [00:00] Introduction
• [00:51] Difficult behaviors don’t always indicate narcissism
• [03:15] Understanding the origins of narcissism
• [07:54] Why narcissists often seek out codependent partners
• [11:50] Repair, ownership, and empathy
• [17:39] Common traits associated with narcissism
• [19:41] Why you can’t heal someone else’s narcissistic part
• [22:08] Healing changes your baseline for love
• [25:30] The difference between avoidant attachment and narcissism
• [28:20] Why avoidantly attached people want connection and push it away
• [31:08] Building capacity for closeness, connection, and intimacy
• [34:14] Using your adult self to distinguish narcissism from avoidant attachment
• [35:28] Question 1 - How do I heal when family dynamics pull me back into old roles?
• [50:24] Question 2 - Is my partner wrong for me if they remind me of a narcissistic parent?
• [01:02:43] Question 3 - Is my nervous system reacting to old trauma or something truly unsafe?
Get on the Waitlist for Sarah’s 16-Week Program:
Ready for tools to heal every area of your life? You Make Sense is a 16-week live program that goes far beyond these weekly podcast episodes to give you powerful somatic exercises and resources to address your nervous system, relationships, younger parts, purpose, boundaries, grief, and more!
Click below to get on the waitlist for limited-time reduced pricing:
https://bit.ly/sp-yms-waitlist
Take Sarah’s FREE Quiz:
Feeling stuck in your life? Not sure where to start with somatic healing? Sarah’s free quiz, “What’s Keeping You Stuck,” will equip you with free tools and a personalized guide to better understand your nervous system specific to you.
Click below to get started:
https://bit.ly/yms-sp-quiz
Connect with Sarah on:
Email Community — bit.ly/yms-sp-newsletter
Instagram — instagram.com/sarahbcoaching
Website — sarahbaldwincoaching.com
Submit a Question:
sarahbaldwin1.typeform.com/podcast
Quotes:
“When we are in dynamics with a narcissist, we'll notice that there really is no capacity to properly repair.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:11:52]
“[Narcissists] are unwilling to see reality in any other way than they see reality.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:12:14]
“The more that we heal, here's the beautiful thing that happens: I change my baseline for what love is.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:24:19]
“An avoidant attachment is absolutely and completely something that can be healed. Full stop.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:31:07]
“What we have to do, if we have an avoidant attachment, is build our capacity for connection, co-regulation, closeness, attunement, intimacy, being exposed, being seen, and being known.” — Sarah Baldwin [0:31:51]