
20 | Rebuilding Self-Trust After Manipulation & Abuse
From The Messy Middle Podcast by Erika Leon
March 26, 2026 · 19 min · Episode 20
About this episode
This episode discusses the challenges of rebuilding self-trust after experiencing manipulation and abuse in relationships.
If you've ever walked away from a controlling or abusive relationship and found yourself completely frozen over the smallest decisions — what to wear, whether to text someone back, what to order for lunch — this episode is for you. It's not just that you stop trusting them after manipulation, control, or abuse. You stop trusting yourself. And that's the part nobody really talks about. Your internal compass gets scrambled. Not because you're broken, but because you were trained to override it....
People in this episode
Host: Erika Leon
Topics covered
- self-trust
- manipulation
- abuse
- relationships
- decision-making
- mental health
Keywords
- self-trust
- manipulation
- abuse
- decision-making
- relationships
- mental health
More episodes of The Messy Middle Podcast
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- 26 | The 'Was it really that bad?" Thought Spiral.. · June 4, 2026 · 12 min
- 25 | Dating as a Practice Ground for Self-Trust · May 28, 2026 · 15 min
- 24 | The “Oh Hell No” Phase of Healing: When All You See are Red Flags · May 21, 2026 · 18 min
- 23 | Dating After Abuse: Slower, Safer Sparks · May 14, 2026 · 16 min
- 22 | Financial Fear After Narcissistic Abuse: What Nobody Talks About · May 7, 2026 · 18 min
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