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Understanding emotional support, emotional labor, and accountability in healthy relationships.

At some point, relationships can cross a quiet line, where support turns into emotional labor, and partners start feeling responsible for each other’s emotions. In this episode, we name that line and talk about what happens when it gets crossed.

We unpack the belief that love means fixing, rescuing, or carrying someone else’s emotional weight. We talk about how expecting your partner to process your trauma, regulate your emotions, or solve your internal struggles leads to shutdowns, irritability, and defensiveness. Not because either person is “bad,” but because the roles are misaligned.

We also get clear about what your partner can be responsible for:

🔑 What is support and what is therapy?

🤝 Your partner can’t “fix” problems

💔 Feeling responsible for someone’s emotions

🚩Emotional labor and shutdowns

We share how this dynamic showed up in our own relationship, how it created distance instead of closeness, and what changed when we moved that work into therapy and took responsibility for our emotional regulation. The result wasn’t less connection, it was more safety, clarity, and mutual respect.

Let's unpack it.

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Leaving toxic relationships and friendships without carrying shame.

In this episode, we get honest about the relationships we carried throughout the year. The people we trusted, welcomed into our home, celebrated with, and how those connections quietly shaped our relationship for better and worse.

We share real stories about the people we trusted, the relationships we carried through the year, and how ending them came with unexpected guilt, grief, and second-guessing. We unpack how redirecting our energy into therapy, ourselves, and our relationship didn’t just help emotionally, it changed our lives in tangible ways.

You'll walk away learning:

🚩 Why guilt often shows up when you finally choose to walk away.

• And how feeling guilty doesn’t mean you made the wrong decision — it often means you stopped prioritizing other people’s comfort over your own well-being.

💔 How history, ego, and obligation keep relationships alive longer than they should.

• And why walking away can feel uncomfortable, quiet, or lonely before it ever feels freeing.

🔑 How redirecting your energy creates real, measurable change.

• And why sacrificing your old life for your goals create real change, but at a cost.

This episode is about releasing guilt, choosing honesty over obligation, and stepping into 2026 lighter, clearer, and more intentional.

Let's unpack it.

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Survive holiday stress, family chaos, and expectations without losing your joy.

The holidays can bring joy… and a whole lot of bullsht.

In this Bullsht & Banter episode, we’re taking a lighter, messier, more unfiltered look at holiday stress to decompress, because sometimes the most therapeutic thing you can do is laugh at the madness. From family dynamics to unrealistic expectations to why being alone during the holidays doesn’t mean you’re lonely.

We wrapped it up and put a bow on it for you, by talking:

🎄 Coping mechanisms that actually help (and not so serious ones just to make you laugh).

🔑 Boundaries that keep you sane.

🚩 Why finding small pockets of joy might be the only thing keeping you from drop-kicking your ornaments across the room.

This episode is cozy chaos, holiday honesty, and the reminder you need:

You get to celebrate the holidays your way.

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Stop choosing someone’s potential and start seeing people for who they actually are.

They're not everything you were hoping they'd be because you’re fixated with the version of them you built in your head. Your own patterns influence who you allow in and how much.

In this episode, we dig into why so many of us focus on potential, ignore patterns, and stay loyal to the fantasy instead of the reality right in front of us.

We unpack:

🚩 Red flags of “fixer” relationships and why they drain your self-worth.

💔 How projecting your fantasy onto someone keeps you stuck in toxic cycles.

🔑 Why choosing reality over potential is the ultimate act of self-love and the key to healthy relationships.

If you’re tired of getting hooked on people’s “could be” instead of their actual behavior, this one’s for you.

Potential doesn’t pay rent in your relationships, and it definitely won’t build the ones you want.

Let’s unpack it.

PS - Don't forget you can get 10% off your Wicked Cozy Candle by using UHaul10 at checkout: www.wickedcozycandleco.com

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How to recognize emotional red flags, set real boundaries with family, and protect both yourself and your relationship.

Sometimes “keeping the peace” with family means completely losing your own.
And when you’re in a committed relationship, their drama doesn’t just touch you, it touches your partner, too.

In this episode of U-Haul and Unpack, we’re talking about what it looks like to practice boundaries with family in real time... while protecting your personal peace and the safety of your relationship. Because choosing each other sometimes means disappointing the people who raised you.

We’re unpacking:

🚩 What it really looks like when “keeping the peace” with family starts costing your relationship

💔 How to protect your partner from being pulled into unhealthy family dynamics

🔑 How we handled real-life boundary-setting moments and what it taught us about emotional safety and teamwork

Mindset shifts for when guilt, pressure, or manipulation show up after you set a limit.

This one’s about more than self-protection, it’s about building a partnership that feels safe, united, and drama-free.

Let’s unpack it.

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setting boundaries with family | relationship boundaries | emotional safety in relationships | protecting your partner | healthy family dynamics | trauma healing podcast | personal growth journey | boundary setting examples

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How to let go of blame, take accountability, and finally heal from toxic relationships, betrayal, and self-sabotage.

We’ve all been hurt.
We’ve all had someone do us wrong.
But holding onto the victim card doesn’t keep you safe...it just keeps you stuck.

In this episode of U-Haul and Unpack, we’re unpacking what it really means to take accountability for your part in any relationship: romantic, platonic, or family, without dismissing the pain you’ve lived through.

We’re sharing:

🚩 The uncomfortable truth about being both the victim and the contributor

💔 Why staying in victim mode blocks your healing

🔑 How accountability is the only way to break toxic cycles

This conversation is your permission slip to stop replaying what they did and start focusing on what you can change. Whether it’s a breakup, a friendship fallout, or a family wound that won’t close. This episode will help you reclaim your power and start healing forward.

You can be the victim of something and the contributing factor at the same time. That’s where real growth begins. Let’s unpack it.

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How to break free from toxic family expectations, stop carrying generational guilt, and finally choose peace.

Family loyalty sounds noble, until it becomes a prison.

In this episode of U-Haul and Unpack, we’re calling out the one thing nobody wants to admit out loud: just because someone raised you, birthed you, or carries the title of “family,” doesn’t mean you live your life on their terms.

This one is raw and personal. We share the truth about family ties that held us back, the guilt that kept us stuck way too long, and the tools that finally set us free.

Together, we’ll unpack:

🚩 How “family loyalty” often disguises emotional warfare

💔 Why history doesn’t guarantee a future place in your life

🔑 The exact shifts we made to set boundaries and choose peace without drowning in guilt

If you’ve ever felt like loving your family means sacrificing yourself, or that walking away makes you selfish, this episode is for you. Family doesn’t mean you do as you're told, and it definitely doesn’t mean you dedicate your life to owing them.

It’s time to stop confusing blood for bond. Let’s unpack it.

PS - Don't forget you can get 10% off your Wicked Cozy Candle by using UHaul10 at checkout: www.wickedcozycandleco.com

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How to recognize toxic friendships, set boundaries, and reclaim your energy.

Not literally.. We’re talking about those “friends” you’ve been carrying around for decades who were never actually in your corner.

Not all friends are really your friends. In this episode of U-Haul and Unpack, we’re unpacking the truth about toxic friendships, fake friends, and why people-pleasing kept us stuck way too long.

From 30-year friendships that turned sour to the final straws that set us free, we’re sharing:

🚩 Red flags of a toxic friend

💔 How to know when it’s time to walk away

🔑 Why cutting ties is the ultimate glow-up

If your “friend” is holding you back instead of cheering you on, this episode will help you spot the signs, stop the cycle, and break out before you burn out.

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