Dr. Yvette's Blog
Inspiration and Encouragement for Your Personal Growth Journey
Stories and learnings from my own personal journey into deeper compassion, healthier relationships and nonviolent living. Please feel free to leave comments and questions on any posts; I love being in conversation with you.
Systemic Change
#130: Understanding Stigma: How Judgment Replaces Empathy in Modern Culture
When we equate human worth with productivity, stigma becomes inevitable. This episode unpacks how judgment toward disability and dependence is shaped by cultural conditioning—and how ...
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Inner Work
#129 – How to Stay Grounded When Someone’s Coming In Hot
How to stay grounded around intense emotions and recognize a freeze response as useful information.
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Inner Work
The Good I Am Waiting For is Already Moving Through Me
The good we are waiting for moves through us.
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Communication Skills
#128 – How to Interrupt When Someone Talks “Too Much”
How to interrupt a conversation without guilt or defensiveness. Learn how to lean into connection even if it means disconnecting in the midst of inattention. ...
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Healthy Relationships
#127 What to Say When Fear Is Running Your Relationships
What to say when fear is running your relationships. Learn how to check assumptions, ask for clarity, and choose courage over anxious stories.
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Emotional Connection
#126 Struggling to Connect with an Emotionally Unavailable Person? Practical Moves That Actually Help
When someone is emotionally unavailable, it’s usually not a lack of care or effort, it’s a nervous-system capacity limit, and no amount of better communication ...
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Dismantling Domination Systems
#97 Disrupting the Old Rules: How to Stop Performing and Start Communicating
Old rules can be dismantled and replaced with new moves.
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Healthy Relationships
#96 How to Reconnect After Distance Without Losing Yourself: Scripts + Skills for Repairing a Friendship After Silence
Have you ever pulled away from someone, but then found yourself unsure how to reconnect when things changed for you? These scripts can help you ...
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Boundaries
#95 Stay in Your Lane: What’s Yours to Carry—And What Isn’t? All About Boundaries
Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling strangely heavy, like you just picked up someone else’s emotional baggage without even realizing it? You ...
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Healthy Relationships
#94 How to Love Someone Without Letting Them Off the Hook
On the podcast recently, caller Cathy grappled with the question of how to stay in connection with her brother, after he had done so much ...
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Healthy Relationships
#93 Too Much, Too Loud, Too Honest? Try Soft Power.
I’ve lost track of how many times someone has said it, either directly or indirectly. You’re too much. You’re a lot. You could be a ...
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Healthy Relationships
#92 What to Do When Everyone Wants Something Different – and You Don’t Want to Disappear
What can I do when I know what I want, but everyone wants something different?
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Personal Growth
#91 How to Talk to Yourself After a Mistake (Without Spiraling)
What you say to yourself after a mistake matters more than the mistake itself.
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Feelings
#90 Navigating Overwhelm in Challenging Times
Overwhelm eases when we recognize we don't have to play every role. You don’t have to be everything or fix everything. Your power lies in ...
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Emotional Connection
#89 When You Want Connection – But Don’t Want to Betray Yourself
We all have that one relationship where connection really matters. The one that holds history, love, and landmines. The one that used to mean everything ...
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Healthy Relationships
#88 10 Phrases to Help You Reconnect When Conversations Go Sideways
What if every awkward silence, every emotional hijack, every misstep, is simply a chance to circle back? To help you reconnect? To build trust, not ...
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Healthy Relationships
#87 Feeling Undermined? How to Reclaim Your Power
Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling undermined, small, dismissed, or questioning yourself? Maybe you shared something personal, only to have the other ...
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Needs
#86 Have Unmet Needs in a Relationship? How to Tell and What to Do
Have you ever felt frustrated, disconnected, or emotionally drained in a relationship, but couldn’t quite put your finger on why? Maybe you’ve found yourself thinking: ...
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Inner Work
#85 Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD): How to Self-Soothe and Break Free from Emotional Distress
Have you ever felt completely crushed by even the smallest hint of rejection? Maybe a friend doesn’t text back, a coworker gives neutral feedback, or ...
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Emotional Connection
#84 Responding with Love When Kids Act Up
Responding with Love When Kids Act Up means no fixing, rescuing, or minimizing their feelings. Discover practical strategies to help kids process frustration, sadness, and ...
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Emotional Connection
#83 Making Peace With Being Misunderstood: When You’re the “Villain” in Their Story
Struggling with being misunderstood? Sometimes, no matter how much we explain, others see us as the "villain" in their story. In this blog post, we ...
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Healthy Relationships
#82 What to Do When Relationships Disappoint You
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, our relationships with other people fall short of what we long for. When this happens, it’s natural to ...
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Personal Growth
#81 Unlearning What No Longer Serves Us: Reclaiming a Healthier Way of Being
This week on Episode 81 of the podcast, I had deeply meaningful conversations with Carol and Jen that reminded me how powerful and necessary it ...
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Healthy Relationships
#80 Reclaiming Your Voice: Navigating One-Sided Conversations
If you've ever been in a conversation where you shared something meaningful, only for the other person to quickly turn the focus back to themselves, ...
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Systemic Change
#130: Understanding Stigma: How Judgment Replaces Empathy in Modern Culture
When we equate human worth with productivity, stigma becomes inevitable. This episode unpacks how judgment toward disability and dependence is shaped by cultural conditioning—and how ...
Read more
Inner Work
#129 – How to Stay Grounded When Someone’s Coming In Hot
How to stay grounded around intense emotions and recognize a freeze response as useful information.
Read more
Inner Work
The Good I Am Waiting For is Already Moving Through Me
The good we are waiting for moves through us.
Read more
Communication Skills
#128 – How to Interrupt When Someone Talks “Too Much”
How to interrupt a conversation without guilt or defensiveness. Learn how to lean into connection even if it means disconnecting in the midst of inattention. ...
Read more
Healthy Relationships
#127 What to Say When Fear Is Running Your Relationships
What to say when fear is running your relationships. Learn how to check assumptions, ask for clarity, and choose courage over anxious stories.
Read more
Emotional Connection
#126 Struggling to Connect with an Emotionally Unavailable Person? Practical Moves That Actually Help
When someone is emotionally unavailable, it’s usually not a lack of care or effort, it’s a nervous-system capacity limit, and no amount of better communication ...
Read more
Dismantling Domination Systems
#97 Disrupting the Old Rules: How to Stop Performing and Start Communicating
Old rules can be dismantled and replaced with new moves.
Read more
Healthy Relationships
#96 How to Reconnect After Distance Without Losing Yourself: Scripts + Skills for Repairing a Friendship After Silence
Have you ever pulled away from someone, but then found yourself unsure how to reconnect when things changed for you? These scripts can help you ...
Read more
Boundaries
#95 Stay in Your Lane: What’s Yours to Carry—And What Isn’t? All About Boundaries
Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling strangely heavy, like you just picked up someone else’s emotional baggage without even realizing it? You ...
Read more
Healthy Relationships
#94 How to Love Someone Without Letting Them Off the Hook
On the podcast recently, caller Cathy grappled with the question of how to stay in connection with her brother, after he had done so much ...
Read more
Healthy Relationships
#93 Too Much, Too Loud, Too Honest? Try Soft Power.
I’ve lost track of how many times someone has said it, either directly or indirectly. You’re too much. You’re a lot. You could be a ...
Read more
Healthy Relationships
#92 What to Do When Everyone Wants Something Different – and You Don’t Want to Disappear
What can I do when I know what I want, but everyone wants something different?
Read more