Episode Summary

In this episode, we dive deep into the topic of numbing, avoiding, and distracting—how to recognize when you’re doing it, whether it’s healthy or unhealthy, and what steps you can take to move forward. Inspired by a recent Coffee Chat session inside the PBT® (Post Betrayal Transformation®) Community, we explore the different ways people cope with painful emotions and why certain methods, even seemingly positive ones, might be keeping you stuck.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• The 3 categories of numbing, avoiding, and distracting

1. 1. Unhealthy ways (e.g., drinking, smoking, emotional eating, reckless behaviors)
   2. Neutral ways (e.g., binge-watching TV, scrolling social media, procrastination)
   3. Sneaky ‘healthy’ ways (e.g., overworking, excessive cleaning, obsessive fitness)

• How to identify if you’re using these behaviors to avoid healing
• 4 powerful questions to ask yourself

1. 1. Am I numbing, avoiding, or distracting? If so, how?
   2. What am I trying not to see?
   3. What will my life look like in 5-10 years if I keep this up?
   4. What could my life look like in 5-10 years if I change now?

• Why numbing makes it easier to get through the day but prevents real healing
• How suppressed emotions surface once you stop numbing—and what to do when they do
• How to handle overwhelming emotions at work and in daily life
• The importance of self-love in healing and why you deserve to overcome your betrayal for yourself—not just for others

Key Takeaways

• Even positive habits (like working, fitness, or organizing) can be a distraction from true healing.
• Suppressed emotions don’t go away—they wait for you until you’re ready to deal with them.
• Healing requires facing, feeling, and processing emotions rather than numbing them.
• If you’ve overcome challenges in other areas of life, you already have proof that you can heal from betrayal too.
• You don’t have to do this alone—the right support and resources can make all the difference.

Listen, reflect, and take action—because healing is possible, and you deserve it!

Resources & Next Steps

Want more support? Join us inside the PBT Community where you’ll find courses, coaching, and live Q&A Coffee Chats to help you heal.

•  Reclaim for the betrayed: Heal from your betrayal and take your life back.
• Rebuild for the betrayer: Heal yourself and help heal the heart you broke.
• Take the Post Betrayal Syndrome Quiz – Post-Betrayal Syndrome Quiz