Today we are talking with Toxic Relationship Expert + Women's Coach Anika Castaneda about navigating trauma and finding healing after leaving a cycle of abusive relationships, beginning at age 13. She vulnerably shares with us her personal story of the physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse she experienced in her romantic relationships throughout her teenage years and into adulthood, and HOW she stopped the cycle and found herself. We talk about WHY she didn’t tell anyone what was happening, the things you can’t see when you are in an abusive relationship, the AHA moment she had that made her realize she had to get out, and HOW she is changing the narrative for women experiencing abusive relationships.

We talk about what narcissistic abuse looks like, how people use love bombing as a grooming tool, and the gaslighting she experienced from her abusers - and herself. Anika shares about finding herself addicted to chaos and self sabotaging, how she worked through her trauma in order to heal, and the tools that helped her get to the other side and learn to trust herself again. She shares about the shame, justification and internal dialog she struggled with, what changed for her when she met her now husband, how she navigates a healthy relationship while coming from a place of hurt, and how to support someone in an abusive relationship.

PLUS: 
What relationship attachment styles are and what they mean, scorekeeping in relationships - what it is, the damage it causes and how to squash it, and the dynamic her cultural upbringing has on her healing and advocacy journey-  and why she leaned into creating the drama on socials.

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