Encouragement for the Codependent
I wish I could say my recovery only moves forward, but this week reminded me that healing sometimes takes a sharp detour. One phone call turned into a full-blown emotional flashback, and before I knew it, I was reacting like the person I used to be, not the one I’ve worked so hard to become.... Continue Reading →
How I Learned to Embrace My Own Company The timing of this topic couldn’t be better. Just last night, I came across a social media post that spoke directly to this, and it really hit home. I’ll share it at the end of this post. There was a time when being alone felt like torture.... Continue Reading →
Letting Go of Who I Thought I Had to Be Back in the day, I used to think I was authentic. I really did. I believed I was being real with myself and others because I was so deep in my codependent patterns, I couldn’t see that I was about as fake as they come.... Continue Reading →
Rediscovering Who I Am Outside of Codependency For a long time, I didn’t really know where I ended and everyone else began. I was a master adapter, shifting who I was depending on who I was with, what they needed, or what I thought they expected. I confused people-pleasing with kindness and lost myself in... Continue Reading →
Reconnecting the Dots: Mind, Body, and Spirit in My Recovery For most of my life, I lived in my head. My thoughts were constantly spinning, analyzing, anticipating, overthinking, people-pleasing, worrying about how I was being perceived, and running imaginary conversations on loop like a bad sitcom rerun. My body? Ignored. My spirit? I wasn't even... Continue Reading →
Navigating Relapses in Codependency Recovery When Old Habits Creep Back In I wish I could tell you that once you start healing from codependency and people-pleasing, those old habits pack their bags, wave goodbye, and head off into the sunset forever. But let’s be real — they’re more like that neighbor who occasionally shows up... Continue Reading →
Letting Go of Deep-Rooted Resentment: Releasing the Weight I Didn’t Know I Was Carrying For a long time, I didn’t even realize what I was feeling was resentment. I just figured feeling frustrated or a little bitter was normal. I didn’t really see that I was carrying it around like an invisible backpack I had... Continue Reading →
Healing the Subconscious Mind: Changing the Scripts That Once Controlled Me If you had asked me years ago whether I had deep-rooted subconscious patterns running my life, I would have confidently said no. I was just trying to help everyone, that’s all. That was the first clue. On my blog, JourneyOnStrong.com, I have shared a... Continue Reading →
Evolving Boundaries Over Time: How My Lines Shifted as I Grew When I first started my recovery from codependency, I thought boundaries were just walls you put up to keep people from hurting you. I imagined them as invisible force fields that kept everyone at a painful distance. Honestly, I wasn’t wrong for where I... Continue Reading →
How I Respond to Guilt Trips (Without Losing Myself) There was a time when a sigh, a disappointed glance, or a few carefully chosen words could send me into a spiral of guilt. I’d drop everything to smooth things over, even if I wasn’t the one who caused the problem. That’s the grip guilt had... Continue Reading →
The Difference Between Walls and Boundaries: Finding the Sweet Spot Between Openness and Protection When I first began to set boundaries, it was confusing and difficult. I used to think I was setting healthy boundaries, but in reality I was building emotional walls, tall and thick ones. I told myself it was self-protection, a way... Continue Reading →
Today I’m Celebrating 20 Years of Recovery from Codependency and People-Pleasing!And yes—I’m throwing confetti (and maybe even dancing a little). Two decades. That’s 240 months, 1,040 weeks, and a whole lot of no’s I had to learn how to say. Today, I’m not just celebrating a milestone—I’m honoring every small, quiet, courageous step it took... Continue Reading →
Journey On Strong 