20 | Rebuilding Self-Trust After Manipulation & Abuse

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

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