Conversations from the Heart
A weekly, soul-nourishing podcast offering psychologically grounded, heart-centered reflections on human relationships, inner healing, and compassion-based communication.
Focused on live mini-coaching moments to help callers shift from reactive, domination-based communication to collaborative, heart-centered connection. Listen for new scripts for stuck situations, new ways of responding to old relationship dynamics and guidance on how to approach these situations with empathy, self-awareness, and effective communication strategies. Here, we emphasize understanding both one's own needs and the needs of others, creating safe spaces for vulnerable conversations, and finding ways to express ourselves authentically while respecting others' boundaries.
Conversations from the Heart
#119 - How to Talk to Your Emotionally Unsafe Parent
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What do you do when every conversation with a parent leaves you feeling erased, criticized, or shut down, but walking away feels like betrayal?
In this raw and tender coaching session, we meet Suzanne, who’s struggling to navigate contact with her mother: a woman who routinely gaslights her, shuts down difficult topics, and prioritizes her own emotional comfort over honest connection. Suzanne wants to be seen. She also wants to stay safe. And in her family, those two things feel mutually exclusive.
We explore:
•The heartbreak of being unseen by a parent you still long to connect with.
•The nervous system impact of childhood emotional silencing, and why it still flares in adulthood.
•How to say “I don’t feel safe talking right now” without guilt.
•What to do when someone turns your feelings into personal attacks.
•And how to develop scripts that mirror instead of merge, so you can stay true to yourself in hard conversations.
If you’ve ever felt trapped in a role that doesn’t fit, or stuck in a pattern that leaves you numb, enraged, or ashamed, this one’s for you.
For ongoing practice and deeper learning, I warmly invite you to become a member of The School of Human Connection.
Twice a month, I host live calls where members bring real relationship dilemmas. We slow things down and I'll help you see what's actually happening and how to respond with more integrity, strength and care.
You will find a safe space for live discussions and a supportive community of like-minded, open-hearted humans.
Stay updated on new episodes and resources by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts or visiting yvetteerasmus.com.
Here are more ways to connect with me: