What do you do when your body goes into shutdown mode during relationship conflict—especially when you want to do better but feel frozen in the moment?

In this episode of Ask Angela: Relationship Advice for Love After Trauma, Angela Amias responds to a listener who struggles to stay engaged during difficult conversations with his girlfriend: shutting down, freezing, and going blank under stress.

Angela explores:
• Why your nervous system may interpret conflict as danger
• How the “freeze” response is a trauma-based form of protection
• What it means to expand your “window of tolerance” in relationships
• How to work with your body instead of against it
• The power of taking pauses, communicating your capacity, and returning to hard conversations
• Why avoiding conflict keeps you stuck—and how to build confidence over time

If you’ve ever shut down in the middle of an argument and felt ashamed or overwhelmed, this episode offers grounded, compassionate insight into how to stay present, communicate better, and grow emotional resilience in your relationship.

✑ Join the conversation or leave a comment at askangela.co

✫ Because love after trauma takes a different kind of wisdom—and you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Read more Ask Angela: Relationship Advice for Love After Trauma

Is it possible to heal old wounds and build a stronger relationship—even if both you and your partner have past trauma? What happens when one person is ready to grow, and the other is unsure?

In this episode of Ask Angela: Relationship Advice for Love After Trauma, Angela Amias responds to a listener wondering whether it's possible for a struggling marriage to heal when both partners bring communication struggles and unhealed trauma into the relationship.

Angela explores:

• How relationship patterns rooted in trauma often run on autopilot
• Why the first step toward change is gaining awareness of your own patterns
• How changing your part of the "dance" can influence your partner's responses
• Why you don’t have to wait for your partner to be equally committed in order to begin
• How relational healing starts with building emotional awareness, emotional literacy, and empathy
• What it really looks like to create healthier communication—and deeper connection—over time

If you’ve ever wondered whether real change is possible—or how to move forward when you feel stuck in old patterns—this episode offers grounded, compassionate guidance for reclaiming hope and healing in love.

✑ Join the conversation or leave a comment at askangela.co

✫ Because love after trauma takes a different kind of wisdom—and you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Read more Ask Angela: Relationship Advice for Love After Trauma

What do you do when you want to grow closer—and your partner keeps putting you off? Can you improve your relationship when your partner isn’t willing to work on communication?

In this episode of Ask Angela: Relationship Advice for Love After Trauma, Angela Amias responds to a listener who feels stuck: she keeps trying to have real conversations with her partner, but he avoids every attempt, leaving her feeling unheard, frustrated, and blamed for being “too emotional.”

Angela explores:

• Why you can’t fix communication problems by working harder alone
• How avoidance and deflection create emotional stalemates
• Why learning to regulate your own emotions is key when your partner won’t engage
• How to stop waiting for “tomorrow” and focus on what you can control today
• The difference between trying to fix a partner—and choosing to grow yourself
• How to use relational data to decide what kind of relationship you really want

If you’ve ever exhausted yourself trying to get your partner to talk—or wondered whether you’re asking for too much—this episode offers grounded, compassionate guidance for reclaiming your voice and your power.

✑ Join the conversation or leave a comment at askangela.co

✫ Because love after trauma takes a different kind of wisdom—and you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Read more Ask Angela: Relationship Advice for Love After Trauma