Drama Free: Untangling Chaotic Relationships with Nedra Tawwab
Welcome back, Chaos-breakers! We’re here trying to shake things up with another episode in our For the Love of Calming the Chaos–and this ones hitting us right where we live. Relationships; we’ve all got them, some we’re born into, others we choose, and others choose us. But what happens when certain relationships tax our energy, fill us with dread, and drain us of all ability to manage them? We have a great guide today to help us reframe relationships that have become dysfunctional, and how we can minimize the drama and chaos they bring. Therapist Nedra Tawwab is back on the show, and we couldn’t be happier. Nedra’s wildly popular Instagram account brings us life on the daily with her practical tips on recognizing when relationships are out of whack, how they might have gotten there, and how we can survive and thrive in the midst of it. Nedra has written two best selling books Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself, and Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships. Nedra and Jen get into the following topics around eradicating relationship drama in our lives:
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The sometimes difficult but very possible ways to begin creating healthy family dynamics
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Finding the courage to have conversations with people when they hurt our feelings
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How to create boundaries and what to do when those boundaries aren’t respected
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Learning how to discern love from dysfunction in our relationships
Life is full of chaos and confusion, and it is important to find a balance between healthy relationships and self-care to maintain peace. Nedra provides us the tools to express ourselves, say no, and be open to uncomfortable conversations.
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Thought-Provoking Quotes
“Being a human is a lot of content in and of itself.” - Nedra Tawwab
“Adulthood is really interesting because you have this opportunity to grow up and be your own person. But so many of us are still very much our parent's child. And I mean child in the sense that we’re a little child where [our parents] are still very much ruling what we’re able to do–at least when they're with us.” – Nedra Tawwab
“How often are we willing to have those conversations and let people know they hurt our feelings?” - Nedra Tawwab
“We all have a different capacity to tolerate dysfunctional things.” - Nedra Tawwab
“So we really have to disentangle love from dysfunction, because we often think that because I love these people, I have to accept the dysfunction.” - Nedra Tawwab
“We have to decide how much we are willing to give of ourselves to be in certain relationships with people, family.” - Nedra Tawwab
“The biggest thing we have to focus on is ourselves. And that's really hard because the really easy thing is to change the other person.” - Nedra Tawwab
Guest’s Links
Nedra’s Website
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Set Boundaries, Find Peace book by Nedra Tawwab
Drama Free book by Nedra Tawwab
Connect with Jen!
Jen’s website