We rationalize until we can’t rationalize anymore.  Sound familiar?  If you’ve ever lived in abuse, you comprehend the reality of that statement.  Mickie shares the story of an abused woman as reported to Huffington Post.  It’s not Mickie’s story, it is Jessica’s;  a woman whom, we hope, did the in-side work necessary to stay out of abusive relationships.

Our brains process 12,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day.  Our conscious mind processes 40 bits of information per second; our subconscious mind processes 40 Million bits of information per second!  Mickie provides ideas and a fun experiment to learn how to be aware of your thoughts, and how to choose the ones that support your growth, safety and sanity.  Listen and give it a try!

Abuse survivor and author, Amber Castleman, speaks her truth in this candid discussion with Mickie.  Her new book His Love Hurts; How to Break Free from Your Abuser, and this open conversation with Surviving Abuse Podcast, chronicle Amber’s turbulent and seemingly helpless journey into, through and out of an abusive marriage.  After listening to her story and her suggestions, Amber may be reached at amblecastleman.com or makeachangenow.le-vel.com

Mickie shares an anonymous story she found on line, a fabulous description of the emotions created by living in abuse, finally accepting the reality of the situation and the danger, emotion, and freedom of escaping.  “Your real friends will listen to you endlessly complain, agonize and cry. They’ll watch in dismay as you smooth it over.  If you’re extremely lucky, one of them might say “You sound like a battered wife”.  “Do I?!!”, you ask out loud.  And the reality of the statement blasts you out of your paralysis.