Forgive Yourself

Brenda Reiss
  • 4.8 (19)
  • Alternative Health
  • Updated Weekly

Host Brenda Reiss is a Freedom and Forgiveness coach, and a person just like you that is learning to navigate life and all its challenges. She teaches a forgiveness process like no other. It's a blend of practical and spiritual forgiveness. This process guides you into knowing how unforgiveness can be keeping you stuck in your relationships, both personally and professionally, preventing you from releasing resentment and finding joy. Each week I share practical and some not so practical tips, tools, and advice from myself and other people that are on this journey just like us. This is for you if you are ready to turn your pain into peace. Welcome to the Forgive Yourself podcast.

  1. 4d ago

    131: What Happened to You Doesn’t Have to Define You

    The ways we learn to survive as children can follow us long after the danger has passed. In this deeply personal conversation, I sit down with Rich Dunning, author of “Silence Was My First Language,” to explore how a childhood shaped by abuse, violence, poverty, homelessness, and addiction continued to affect him well into adulthood. Rich shares how silence, overachievement, distrust, and alcohol became ways of coping with pain he had never addressed, and how addiction eventually brought him to a turning point that changed his life. We talk about sobriety, accountability, rebuilding trust, and what it means to forgive without excusing the harm that was done. Rich also shares how telling his story has helped him release shame, reclaim his voice, and turn his experiences into a source of hope and purpose for others. What You'll Learn How childhood survival patterns like silence, hypervigilance, and overachievement can continue into adulthoodWhy outward success doesn’t necessarily mean the wounds of the past have healedHow addiction became a way for Rich to escape unresolved trauma (what ultimately led him to sobriety)Why accountability and self-forgiveness can exist at the same timeWhat forgiveness looks like when you still need boundaries with the people who hurt youHow releasing shame and speaking openly about your story can become part of the healing processWhy healing isn’t just about changing your own life, but also about breaking cycles for the people who come after you About Rich Dunning Rich Dunning is an author, speaker, and advocate whose work is rooted in his own journey through childhood trauma, addiction, and recovery. He is the author of Silence Was My First Language, a memoir about breaking cycles of abuse, releasing shame, and reclaiming your voice. Sober since 2017, Rich now uses his story to offer hope to others navigating trauma and addiction. He is also the founder of the First Language Foundation, which supports children and young adults affected by abuse, homelessness, hunger, addiction, and exploitation. Get your copy of “Silence Was My First Language”: https://www.richdunningbooks.com/  Learn more about the First Language Foundation: https://firstlanguagefoundation.org/ Follow Rich on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richdunningbooks  Follow Rich Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richdunningbooks/  Connect with Rich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-dunning-9a3137360  Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

    131: What Happened to You Doesn’t Have to Define You

  2. Oct 2

    130: Who Are You When No One Needs You? The Emotional Side of the Empty Nest

    An empty nest can bring more freedom, more time, and a deep sense of pride in the children you’ve raised. It can also bring grief, loneliness, and questions about who you are now. In this episode, I talk about why this transition can feel especially complicated for high-achieving women who have spent years caring for others, staying busy, and tying their sense of value to being needed. I share how to make space for difficult emotions without immediately trying to fix them, reconnect with your own wants and needs, and become curious about the woman emerging underneath all the roles you’ve carried. Rather than rushing to fill the empty space with another goal or accomplishment, I invite you to see this season as an opportunity to listen to yourself, redefine what makes a life meaningful, and discover who you’re becoming now that you have more room to hear yourself. What You'll Learn How being needed can become intertwined with your sense of identity and worthWhy busyness, overthinking, or productivity can sometimes be ways of avoiding difficult emotionsA simple three-question practice for noticing and responding to what you’re feelingHow to explore what you want without turning your next chapter into another achievementHow your relationship with your adult children can evolve from managing and advising to listening and trustingWhy your value, purpose, and identity don’t disappear when your caregiving role changes Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

    130: Who Are You When No One Needs You? The Emotional Side of the Empty Nest

  3. Sep 25

    129: Finding Your Way Back to Your Light

    Finding your way back to yourself is about slowing down enough to hear what’s already within you, not doing more. In this episode, I sit down with best-selling author and entrepreneur Amber Vilhauer to explore what it means to reconnect with your inner light after years of people-pleasing, pushing through, and looking outside yourself for validation. Amber shares how her own experiences with rejection, self-sacrifice, and disconnection led her to rebuild her self-trust and how becoming a mother deepened that journey. We also discuss Amber’s new book, What Nature Teaches Us, co-authored with her son Clay, and the simple but powerful lessons nature offers about resilience, self-worth, compassion, and being present. What You'll Learn How people-pleasing and seeking external validation can disconnect you from your sense of selfWhy slowing down and spending time in nature can help you reconnect with your intuitionHow small, everyday choices can strengthen self-trustWhy your accomplishments and productivity don’t determine your self-worthHow understanding the beliefs behind past choices can make self-forgiveness easierWhat nature can teach us about resilience, compassion, connection, and being the light About Amber Vilhauer Amber Vilhauer is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, speaker, and mom who has spent more than 20 years helping others grow with greater authenticity and purpose. Her latest book, What Nature Teaches Us, co-authored with her nine-year-old son, explores resilience, self-worth, connection, and the lessons we discover when we slow down and listen. Get Amber’s Be the Light Family Connection Guide, a free resource featuring five simple, nature-inspired conversations designed to help people slow down, reconnect, and explore resilience, self-trust, kindness, and big feelings: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/arz2pa1sfr4o0v111ps1a/Be-the-Light-PDF.pdf?  rlkey=v1km42wtlvjeqzjpw8jpfyzvg&st=7wgwl7mv&dl=0  Learn more about Amber: https://ambervilhauer.com/  Get your copy of “What Nature Teaches Us”: https://choosethelight.com/  Follow Amber on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambervilhauer/?hl=en   Connect with Amber LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambervilhauer/   Follow Amber on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambervilhauer/   Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

    129: Finding Your Way Back to Your Light

  4. Sep 18

    128: From Self-Punishment to Self-Compassion

    Getting sober, changing a behavior, or understanding your patterns doesn’t always mean you’ve healed from what’s underneath them. In this episode, I'm joined by Leif Bjelland, longtime recovery advocate and founder of Heroic Breath, to explore the difference between taking responsibility for your past and continuing to punish yourself for it. Leif shares how his own recovery from alcoholism eventually led him beyond sobriety and into meditation, breathwork, and a deeper understanding of self-compassion. Leif and I discuss the shame and repetitive thought patterns that can keep us stuck, why we often turn to busyness or other forms of escape to avoid what we’re feeling, and how embodied practices can help us move beyond simply understanding our patterns. This episode is an invitation to stop using your past against yourself and begin experiencing compassion, forgiveness, and healing in a new way. What You'll Learn Why stopping a behavior and truly healing are not always the same thingThe difference between taking responsibility and continuing to punish yourselfHow shame, repetitive thoughts, and escapism can keep old patterns aliveWhy intellectual understanding alone may not be enough to create lasting changeHow meditation and breathwork can help you reconnect with your body and quiet the thinking mindWhat it means to experience self-compassion instead of simply understanding the concept About Leif Bjelland Leif Bjelland is an entrepreneur, longtime recovery advocate, breathwork facilitator, and founder of Heroic Breath. More than 10 years into his own sobriety journey, Leif draws from his experiences with recovery, meditation, and breathwork to help others move beyond intellectual understanding and experience greater self-compassion, healing, and connection with themselves. Get complimentary access to The Release, the first full-length session of the Heroic Breath Reset with code “freedom100”: heroicbreath.com/freedom  Connect with Leif on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leif-b-038a21242/  Follow Leif on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heroic.breath/  Follow Leif on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570276557095 Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

    128: From Self-Punishment to Self-Compassion

  5. Sep 11

    127: How to Forgive the Version of You Who Didn’t Know Better

    After heartbreak, it’s easy to look back and wonder: Why didn’t I see it sooner? Why did I stay? How did I let this happen? But taking responsibility for your past doesn’t have to mean carrying shame for it. In this episode, I sit down with somatic coach, educator, and writer Christina Elaine to explore the patterns that keep us stuck in self-blame and why healing isn’t about endlessly analyzing or fixing ourselves. Christina shares how our nervous systems can pull us toward familiar relationship dynamics, why insight alone may not be enough to change those patterns, and how new experiences can help us respond differently. What You'll Learn How to distinguish healthy self-responsibility from shame and self-blameWhy familiar emotional dynamics can keep showing up in your relationshipsHow somatic awareness can help you interrupt old patterns and choose a different responseWhy constantly analyzing yourself and others can sometimes make healing harderHow to experience difficult emotions without immediately attaching a story to themWhy frustration, disappointment, and annoyance can actually be signs of greater emotional regulation About Christina Elaine Christina Elaine is a somatic coach, educator, and writer who helps people rebuild emotional safety and connection through the body. She is the editor of Mutual Terrain and a top 1% writer on Medium. Through her coaching, workshops, and embodiment-based curriculums, Christina helps both men and women recognize emotional and relationship patterns, develop new ways of responding, and create healthier connections with themselves and others. Learn more about Christina: https://christinaelaine.com Get access to Christina’s Radiance and Embodied course library: https://christinaelaine.com/radiance-embodied/  Join her Workshop, Being Held, a four-Sunday live series for women: https://christinaelaine.com/being-held/  Follow Christina on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@christinaelainecoachingMedium: https://medium.com/@christinaelainecoachingSubstack: https://christinacoaching.substack.com Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

  6. Sep 4

    126: Rebuilding Your Health, Faith, and Life After Trauma

    Sometimes the symptoms we’re trying to silence are actually asking us to pay attention. In this episode, Dr. Jen Hewson, doctor of natural medicine, ordained minister, author, and trauma survivor, explores the connection between our physical health, nervous system, emotions, relationships, and spiritual lives. Drawing from her own journey, Dr. Jen shares how years spent in survival mode can shape the way we feel, think, respond, and care for ourselves. Together, we discuss learning to recognize the difference between intuition and hypervigilance, quieting the body so we can hear ourselves more clearly, and finding compassion for the choices we once made simply to survive. What You'll Learn How prolonged stress and survival mode can affect the body, nervous system, and emotional well-beingWhy physical symptoms may be worth exploring as part of a larger whole-person pictureHow to begin distinguishing between intuition and a nervous system that is operating on high alertWhy some behaviors we judge ourselves for may have developed as ways of coping or survivingHow forgiveness can unfold in layers and help us release patterns rooted in past pain Get Dr. Jen’s free “Your Gut Is Trying to Tell You Something” guide: https://guide.takebackyourhealth.ca/  Subscribe to Dr. Jen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SiftingLifePodcast  Listen to the Sifting Life podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1bc8CeLwm5TzeQe5fRXwYd?si=qHbCbaBGSNaRLdQVcZCfOg&nd=1&dlsi=763c6f75a55c4593 Follow Dr. Jen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takebackyourhealthwithdrjen/  Connect with Dr. Jen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com//takebackyourhealthwithjen Follow along on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@askdrjenhewson About Dr. Jen Hewson Dr. Jen Hewson is a doctor of natural medicine, ordained minister, author, speaker, trauma survivor, and founder of Take Back Your Health and Sifting Life Ministries. Drawing from both her professional training and her personal journey through childhood trauma, cancer, and rebuilding her health, Dr. Jen helps others explore the connections between their physical symptoms, emotional experiences, thought patterns, relationships, and spiritual well-being. Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

  7. Aug 28

    125: Trusting Yourself to See Relationships Clearly

    Relationships can become much harder to see clearly when our emotions, hopes, fears, and past experiences are involved. Sometimes we recognize the red flags or feel that something isn’t right long before we’re ready to admit it to ourselves. In this episode, I’m joined by relationship coach and “Is He Worthy?” author Dave McLachlan for a conversation about bringing greater clarity and self-trust into the way we choose and navigate relationships. Dave shares how his own difficult divorce inspired him to create the Worthy Method, an unemotional relationship assessment designed to help women identify what truly matters to them, establish their non-negotiables, and look more objectively at whether a relationship aligns with the life they want. We explore why we can override our intuition, how emotions can cloud what we already know, and why recognizing our own relationship patterns is an important part of making different choices. What You'll Learn How defining your non-negotiables can help you make more aligned choicesWhy we sometimes override red flags and our own intuitionHow self-awareness can reveal patterns in the relationships we chooseWhy assessing your own readiness matters just as much as assessing a potential partnerHow forgiveness can help you release past relationship choices and move forward with greater self-trust Use code "4GIVE" for a 45-day free trial of the Is He Worthy community: https://isheworthy.com/Subscribe About Dave McLachlan: ​Dave's work focuses on helping women assess their relationships more clearly to stop bad relationships before they start.  He is the creator of the W.O.R.T.H.Y. Method, an unemotional relationship assessment designed to guide women to ask important questions early.  Subscribe to Dave on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@isheworthynow Follow Dave on… Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/is_he_worthy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@is.he.worthy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isheworthy/  Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

    125: Trusting Yourself to See Relationships Clearly

  8. Aug 21

    124: You Haven't Messed Up Your Life

    For years, Paul Drayton believed his struggles with addiction, relationships, and identity were simply who he was. It wasn't until a life-changing ADHD diagnosis at age 50, the end of his marriage, and the work of looking honestly at his past that he began to understand the deeper story behind his choices and find his way back to himself. In this heartfelt episode, I talk with the British actor, writer, and author of Ride or Die Trying about addiction, recovery, people-pleasing, late-diagnosed ADHD, and the quiet courage it takes to rebuild your life after losing yourself. Paul shares how years of self-medicating, public scrutiny, and searching for answers eventually led him to a place of self-understanding and peace. Get a copy of Paul’s debut Memoir, Ride or Die Trying: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ride-or-die-trying-a-life-before-during-and-after-the-laughter-paul-drayton/470cc7e00d605b01 Learn more about Paul: https://pauldrayton.co.uk/  Follow Paul on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauldrayton1/  What You'll Learn Why understanding yourself is often the foundation of self-forgivenessThe connection between people-pleasing, losing your identity, and unhealthy relationshipsWhat recovery looks like beyond simply getting soberHow accountability and self-compassion can exist at the same timeWhy rebuilding your life starts with coming home to yourself instead of trying to become someone elseHow resilience is often discovered only after you've lived through your hardest seasonsWhy it's never too late to rediscover who you are and create a different future Resources: Your FREE Forgive Yourself resources: https://brendareisscoaching.com/resources/ Are you struggling with a situation or a person in your life? Wondering if you are ready to work on forgiving yourself? Take our quiz to find out your emotional IQ and how this impacts your ability to forgive: https://archetype.brendareisscoaching.com/sf/357cdc60    Brenda’s Website/Links WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedIn

    124: You Haven't Messed Up Your Life
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4.8
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

Host Brenda Reiss is a Freedom and Forgiveness coach, and a person just like you that is learning to navigate life and all its challenges. She teaches a forgiveness process like no other. It's a blend of practical and spiritual forgiveness. This process guides you into knowing how unforgiveness can be keeping you stuck in your relationships, both personally and professionally, preventing you from releasing resentment and finding joy. Each week I share practical and some not so practical tips, tools, and advice from myself and other people that are on this journey just like us. This is for you if you are ready to turn your pain into peace. Welcome to the Forgive Yourself podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Brenda Reiss
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    131
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Brenda Reiss Coaching All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    Forgive Yourself

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