Ground Breaking Discoveries About Betrayal

Years ago, I was betrayed by my family. Then a few years later, by my husband. I felt so sad, so hurt and so confused, the same way that you might still be feeling now. My hurt and confusion sent me on a quest for answers. I was desperate to figure out how the mind works, why we do what we do and how I could heal. My curiosity and determination led to a Ph.D. program in Transpersonal Psychology. During my Ph.D. program, I specifically studied how we experience betrayal. Is there something that holds us back? Is there something that can help us heal? I wanted to know what happens to us physically, mentally, and emotionally when the people closest to us lie, cheat, and deceive. I knew that I couldn’t be the only one out there that experienced these painful things and I wanted to find a way to help people get past them. That exact same study led to three groundbreaking discoveries:

1.Healing from betrayal is very different than healing from other life crises

The death of a loved one, disease, or natural disaster — with any of these crises, we grieve, we’re sad, we mourn. What’s the difference? A betrayal feels more intentional — we take it so personally. This leads to the whole self having to be rebuilt. Rejection, abandonment, belonging, confidence, worthiness, trust, all have to be rebuilt. That type of healing needed its own name — Post-Betrayal…