Hi friend,
Okay, so I have been diving deep into the connection between self-abandonment, masking who you are, and these coping mechanisms that develop as self-preservation to protect you, to keep you safe, often unconsciously in childhood, and how that impacts you emotionally and physically, and in your overall well being.
So last week on the podcast, I talked about the connection between people pleasing as a form of self-abandonment and how that makes you physically ill and shows up predominantly in women. This week, I'm taking it a level deeper and speaking to how you begin to shift.
When you are masking, you're essentially fearing your own authenticity. You're afraid of being seen for who you truly are.
And it's not always fully conscious, right? It often stems from messaging picked up on as children. It's an adaptation to an environment. An adaptation to relationships because, as a child, it may have felt like being authentic was dangerous.
It may have risked your attachment to people that you needed for your survival. And so as we move into adulthood, we get to shift that perspective to prioritizing our authentic self.
The perceived disconnection from others can be really frightening to the nervous system, and it takes a lot of introspection and patience and baby-stepping your body into exploring this topic because it can feel dangerous to the body (what is unfamiliar feels unsafe to the nervous system).
So this week on the Reframing Neurodiversity Podcast, I'm taking it one step further, addressing the conversation from last week around autoimmune disease and people-pleasing and really getting under the hood of how we actually shift this.
We know this is a pattern that's happening in the lives of so many women, but how do we begin to create change in a way that feels safe, is lasting, and actually supports the nervous system through this transition?
It can just feel very uncomfortable and daunting and where do you even begin? So, if you're interested in taking these next steps into leaning into this conversation, into beginning to heal yourself from the inside out, not only mentally, emotionally, but physically as well. This week's episode is for you! I'm going to drop it in here below.
I would love to hear from you and how you like it, if you can relate. It's a topic that I feel is so relevant and critical for us as women to understand because it can be running the show in the background without conscious awareness. Until you're aware and have some tools to lean into a new way, you can stay looping in the same discomfort, the same suffering, the same disconnection from yourself.
So check it out, leave me a note, reply to this email, and let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear from you!
Sending you so much love,
Melissa
P.S. If you’d like to join our Inner Circle for full access to resources that support your nervous system + behind the scenes, more personal shares and priority access to 1:1 support, and customized packages for moms and kids, I’d love to see you in there!
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