Rise Up Restored Rise Up Restored

***Just a reminder to listeners that the topic of sexual health is an important step in the recovery journey, and if you are not yet in the place in your recovery to work on that piece, that is perfectly normal and okay. Listeners are invited to skip this episode if needed and rejoin on the next one!***
Becky, Autumn and Tiffany are joined by Sex Therapist Jessica Holfeltz to discuss listener questions about sex therapy.  Jessica shares what sex therapy is and what it is not. She reassures listeners that sex therapy involves talking and processing with the therapist, learning to communicate with their partners, and navigating the journey towards healthy sexuality. Jessica encourages listeners to get curious about all aspects of their sexuality. She shares the importance of listening to any pain in our bodies and instructs listeners that when pain in any form happens during sex, it is vital to stop and listen to our bodies. Sex therapy can help partners communicate and remove shame from the experience. She stresses the importance of honest communication and honoring the “no’s” so that our “yes’s” have more meaning. Jessica also teaches listeners that in order to have healthy sexuality, we must first have a healthy relationship with pleasure in general and learn how to navigate the voices of shame.



Show notes:
For more episodes and resources, please visit https://riseuprestored.com/
And join us online at Rise Up Restored on Instagram and Facebook.
 

Becky and Tiffany sit down with Hejdi to share her story of betrayal trauma and healing. Hejdi shares how even though her husband disclosed his porn use while they were dating, neither of them understood the “monster” it was.
Early in their marriage, her husband’s porn addiction caused a “numb cloud” in her life, making it difficult to access the emotions needed to connect with others. During a particularly dark time, she found support in women’s groups and church leaders, managing to feel God’s great love for her.
Learning about the surrender process and how to create and uphold healthy boundaries were also powerful sources of help.  “I put God in my center,” Hejdi says. “I know He has me. Putting Him as my focus, I could trust Him. The second I tried to sneak my husband back in my center…I felt more stressed and crazy.”
Though she still sometimes struggles with wanting to jump back in to try to control, Hejdi has found a lot of healing.  She says, “(God) is my healing. He’s why I’m able to get up each day. He’s why I have hope when it seems so dark.”
 
Show notes:
For more episodes and resources, please visit https://riseuprestored.com/
And join us online at Rise Up Restored on Instagram and Facebook.
Have questions?  Send them to becky@riseuprestored.com
 

Episode 65- Get to Know the Team- Part 2
In the Part 2 of Get to Know the Team, we invite listeners to get to know us a little better and get some updates on our journeys. In this episode, the three of our team members sharing with listeners are Autumn, Richard, and Tiff. 
We invite you to curl up and learn a little more about the technical side of the podcast, what everyone on the team does to help with the podcast, challenges and strengths that have developed over time, recovery practices that have stood the test of time, favorite books, snack, and quotes, and more! We hope you enjoy getting to know us a little bit better and look forward to a beautiful year 5 of the Rise Up Restored podcast.
Show notes:
For more episodes and resources, please visit https://riseuprestored.com/
And join us online at Rise Up Restored on Instagram and Facebook.
Have questions?  Send them to becky@riseuprestored.com
 

Episode 64- Get to Know the Team- Part 1
As we begin our 5th year of the podcast (yay!), we thought it would be fun for our listeners to get to know us a little better and give some updates on our journeys. This episode has three of our team members opening up to listeners: Becky, Deb and Erin. 
We invite you to curl up and learn a little more about how the podcast came to be, what everyone on the team does on the podcast, challenges and strengths that have developed over time, recovery practices that have stood the test of time, favorite books, snack, and quotes, and more! We hope you enjoy getting to know us a little bit better and look forward to hearing from the rest of the team in the next episode.
 
Show notes:
For more episodes and resources, please visit https://riseuprestored.com/
And join us online at Rise Up Restored on Instagram and Facebook.
Have questions?  Send them to becky@riseuprestored.com
 

The Rise Up Restored Podcast Christmas Gift this year is an episode on self-compassion! Tiffany and Becky are joined by licensed and experienced therapist Shelley Dunford-Hardy. Shelley’s Master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology and Spiritual Psychology have brought greater focus on self-compassion as an important tool in her work as a therapist. Shelley shares how research has shown that the most important relationship any of us can have is with ourselves, which is why self-compassion is so vital for all of life’s ups and downs. Shelley reminds listeners that pain is part of the human experience. Remembering this can transform our pain into a moment of connection with other people and ourselves. Becoming aware of our pain, and the mindfulness to just be with our pain and suffering long enough to respond with care and kindness helps us move into the healing. Self-compassion is learning to treat ourselves as a friend and ally and this is all about growth. Once we are grounded in self-compassion, then we can become open to compassionate self-forgiveness, which is teased for an UPCOMING episode on the podcast.

Becky and Tiffany sit down with Keara to share her story of betrayal trauma and healing. Keara shares how her husband disclosed his porn use seven years into their marriage. Every disclosure had her forgiving him instantly and spending all her energy trying to make their home environment tidy and calm. After one particularly painful disclosure, she found she didn’t have it in her to forgive. “I was angry with him,” she recalls, “and I was angry with God.” Over time, as she waded through the hurt and loneliness, she began to understand that “The atonement (of Jesus Christ) is not just for sins. It’s for those who have been hurt and sinned against. I saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father as loving people who would care for me and love me.” Through her husband’s work to recover, and her own work (including listening to a betrayal trauma podcast and journaling), Keara began seeing changes in her husband’s selfishness that gave her hope. Though there are still recurrences in her marriage at times, things are much more open and honest between them. Keara also now has a lot more patience with herself. When asked how she’s finding restoration, Keara shares that through understanding grace and the atonement of Jesus Christ, she is at peace with being herself. She now realizes the Lord looks on the heart.