Moral injury is one of the most misunderstood forms of trauma—and it may explain why so many women leaving toxic or abusive relationships still feel broken, ashamed, or beyond forgiveness.

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Navy Chaplain and combat veteran Dr. Larry Brant, who has spent decades helping individuals heal from PTSD, spiritual trauma, and moral injury.

Together, we explore:

• What moral injury actually is (and how it’s different from PTSD)
• How toxic relationships and spiritual abuse create deep identity wounds
• Why many women feel “unforgivable” after abuse
• How faith is often twisted to control and silence
• The critical role of safe, non-judgmental support in healing
• Why “just pray more” is not enough
• A real pathway to restoration, healing, and hope

If you’ve ever felt:
✔️ Like something is deeply wrong with you
✔️ Spiritually confused after a relationship
✔️ Ashamed of what you tolerated or experienced
✔️ Disconnected from your faith or identity

This conversation will help you understand what’s really happening beneath the surface—and why healing is possible.

Dr. Brandt’s book: Restoring the Broken

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📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
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Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

Why do women stay in toxic relationships? In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Nikki Allen shares her personal story of emotional abuse, physical violence, trauma bonding, identity loss, and the long journey toward healing and self-love.

Nikki is the author of Loved You, Hated You, a bold novel inspired by real-life heartbreak. What began as a song became a screenplay and then a gripping work of fiction rooted in betrayal, emotional captivity, and the power of choosing yourself. In this conversation, Nikki opens up about abusive relationship patterns, why women stay, how childhood wounds can shape adult relationships, what healing really looks like, and how healthy love can feel unfamiliar after toxic love.

We also talk about:

• toxic relationships and emotional abuse
• trauma bonds and why leaving is so hard
• domestic violence and reactive abuse
• self-worth after abuse
• triggers in healthy relationships
• boundaries, healing, and self-love
• how creativity can help process heartbreak and trauma
• Nikki’s book Loved You, Hated You

If you have ever asked yourself, “Why did I stay?” or struggled to trust healthy love after surviving abuse, this episode is for you.

Find Nikki Allen and her work at NikkiAllen.com

Subscribe for more conversations on toxic relationships, narcissistic abuse, healing, boundaries, faith, and emotional recovery.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
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🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
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Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

Can scripture be misused in marriage?

In this honest and faith-centered conversation, Lizzie and Deana explore a difficult but important topic many Christian women quietly wrestle with: what happens when Bible verses are quoted without context and used to justify control, silence, or emotional harm.

This episode discusses spiritual confusion in marriage, the misapplication of scripture, and the difference between biblical submission and spiritual manipulation.

Many women have been told to submit more, pray more, endure more—yet instead of finding peace, they experience guilt, confusion, and spiritual fog.

Lizzie shares personal experiences from a spiritually abusive marriage, while Deana discusses how spiritual confusion can develop when isolated verses are used without the full context of scripture.

This conversation is not about attacking marriage or promoting divorce. Marriage is sacred and covenant matters deeply. Instead, this discussion seeks to bring clarity, discernment, and healing to women who may feel spiritually trapped or confused.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Spiritual confusion in Christian marriages
• When scripture is used to justify control
• The difference between submission and manipulation
• Misapplied Bible verses in toxic relationships
• How spiritual abuse creates guilt and confusion
• The role of discernment in faith and relationships
• Why endurance is not always holiness
• Questions women can ask when seeking clarity

If you’ve ever wondered:

“Am I sinning if I leave?”
“Is this conviction from God… or pressure from someone else?”

This episode invites you to explore those questions prayerfully and thoughtfully.

Because loving with eyes wide open means we seek truth, peace, and discernment.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Get your FREE Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

What if your burnout, sexual dysfunction, anxiety, or confusion isn’t a hormone problem… but a coercive control problem?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with naturopathic physician, author of The Pink Canary, and host of The Pleasure Principles, Dr. Jordin Wiggins.

Jordin works with high-achieving women who appear successful on the outside but are secretly struggling in sexless marriages, emotionally abusive relationships, or rebuilding after divorce.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• What coercive control actually looks like
• Why “super traits” make women more vulnerable to abuse
• The connection between toxic relationships and sexual dysfunction
• Why traditional therapy often misses power dynamics
• Why abuse escalates after separation
• How burnout, binge eating, libido loss, and anxiety may be trauma responses
• Why “hurt people hurt people” can excuse abuse

Dr. Wiggins shares her personal story of unknowingly being in an abusive relationship, the medical symptoms she developed, and how awareness changed everything.

If you have ever felt confused, blamed yourself, or wondered why nothing you tried “fixed” the relationship, this episode is for you.

Because sometimes the problem isn’t you. It’s the system you’re living in.

Links to Dr. Wiggins’ book, podcast, and quizzes are below.

(Supertraits Quiz) https://form.typeform.com/to/p9OQD3F5?typeform-source=www.upwork.com

(Website) https://www.thepleasurecollective.com/

Subscribe for more faith-centered conversations on discernment, emotional health, and healing from toxic relationships.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Get your FREE Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

What if boundaries aren’t rejection… but stewardship?

Many Christian women struggle to set boundaries because they fear being unloving, unforgiving, or “not submissive enough.” But boundaries are not walls. They are not punishment. They are protection.

In this episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships and the Love With Eyes Wide Open series, Lizzie and Deana unpack the biblical difference between boundaries and emotional walls — and why discernment and boundaries must work together.

You’ll hear:

• Why people-pleasing leads to resentment
• The difference between faith-based boundaries and fear-based walls
• How spiritual manipulation distorts Scripture
• What healthy boundaries actually sound like in real life
• Why boundaries require follow-through
• When a silent exit plan may be necessary
• How to stop feeling guilty for protecting your peace

If you’ve ever asked:
Am I overreacting?
Is it unchristian to protect myself?
Why do I feel guilty when I say no?

This conversation will help you move forward with clarity, courage, and Christ-centered wisdom.

Because discernment recognizes truth.
Boundaries protect the peace that follows.

Resources Mentioned:
Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God’s Voice in Relationships: https://amzn.to/45VZISD
Coming soon: When Something Feels Wrong

Follow Surviving Toxic Relationships for more faith-based conversations on emotional health, toxic relationship patterns, and spiritual discernment.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Get your FREE Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

Divorce doesn’t have to be a battlefield.

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie and Deana sit down with divorce mediator and communication strategist Elizabeth Merrill, founder of Open Space Mediation. Liz shares her personal journey through a high-conflict marriage, emotional abuse, and the moment her children helped her find the courage to leave.

Together, they unpack the hidden emotional and financial costs of litigation, how fear and misinformation keep women stuck, and why mediation can sometimes create healthier outcomes for families navigating separation.
If you’re facing a toxic relationship, high-conflict divorce, or wondering how to protect your peace while making wise legal decisions — this conversation offers clarity, education, and hope.

In this episode, we talk about:
-Narcissistic abuse patterns and fear tactics in divorce
-Why many women stay longer than they want to
-The emotional brain vs logical decision-making during separatin
-Mediation vs litigation: cost, conflict, and co-parenting outcomes
-Communication tools for calmer, more productive conversations
-How education reduces fear in high-conflict situations

Whether you're considering divorce, supporting a friend, or healing after a toxic relationship, this episode brings practical insight and compassionate perspective.

You can reach Liz Merrill https://www.openspacemediation.com

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Get your FREE Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

What is discernment, and how do Christian women recognize red flags while still leading with faith, wisdom, and peace? In this first episode of the Love With Eyes Wide Open podcast series, Lizzie and Deana talk about biblical discernment, Christian relationship advice, guarding your heart, parenting with spiritual wisdom, and how to recognize toxic relationship patterns before heartache begins.

This faith-centered conversation explores how spiritual sensitivity, observation over time, and listening for God’s voice help women and mothers guide themselves and their daughters toward healthy, Christ-centered relationships. Lizzie and Deana share personal experiences, lessons learned from past marriages, and practical encouragement for parents raising daughters in today’s world.

If you are a Christian woman seeking clarity, wisdom, and discernment in relationships, this episode will help you slow down, notice patterns, and choose peace over pressure. And for Christian mothers who desire to guide their daughters with faith and wisdom, this conversation offers encouragement and practical insight to help you model discernment, recognize red flags early, and teach the next generation how to build Christ-centered relationships.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Get your FREE Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.

Trauma. Addiction. Toxic relationships. Shame. Mindset renewal.
In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Rose Ann Forte, international bestselling author and creator of the Choose Freedom program—a faith-forward, neuroscience-backed approach to overcoming life-interfering behaviors.

Rose Ann shares her personal journey through a toxic marriage, substance use as coping, CPTSD, and deep spiritual confusion—and how renewing her mind through Scripture paired with neuroscience transformed her life. As a former C-suite executive and church leader, Roseanne brings wisdom, compassion, and clarity to conversations many women of faith struggle to have out loud.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why faith alone without mind renewal can keep people stuck
• How trauma, addiction, and toxic relationships share similar brain patterns
• What cognitive dissonance looks like in relationships and substance use
• How gratitude and awareness literally rewire the brain
• Why labels and shame prevent healing for many women
• How boundaries restore agency and self-respect
• What “renewing the mind” looks like in real life, not theory

This conversation is for women who love God but feel trapped in patterns they can’t break—and are ready to experience freedom without shame.

🔗 Learn more about Roseanne Forte & the Choose Freedom program:
https://www.choosefreedom.today

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Get your FREE Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

Disclaimer: The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.