#17 MBT 1 on 1 Therapy > Between Caring, Letting Go, and Staying True to Yourself

🎙️ Special Episode – “Between Caring, Letting Go, and Staying True to Yourself”

Welcome to this special episode of the MBT podcast.

In this episode, you are once again given a unique insight into a one-on-one therapy session — a space where thoughts, emotions, and patterns become visible as they unfold in everyday life.

What makes this session unique is the combination of multiple layers at once: physical fatigue, caring for a parent, tension in relationships, and a growing awareness of self.

Today, we listen to a conversation where someone is trying to find balance between caring for others and caring for themselves — while life continues to move forward.

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🧠 What this episode explores

Fatigue and physical signals

Sometimes your body gives signals you can no longer ignore.

Fatigue, resistance, physical discomfort — it asks you to slow down.

And in those moments, a deeper question arises:

am I really taking care of myself?

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Caring for a parent

When a parent begins to decline, something fundamental changes.

Not only practically — organizing, supporting, making decisions —

but emotionally as well.

You begin to feel that you are slowly losing someone,

even though they are still there.

And that is what makes it so complex.

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Allowing or avoiding emotions

This session highlights how difficult it can be

to truly allow feelings like sadness.

The urge to stay busy, to distract, or to fix things

is always close.

But underneath that is a deeper question:

can I allow myself to feel what is there?

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The role of responsibility

A recurring theme in this episode is responsibility.

Responsibility for the situation.

For others.

For solving things.

But gradually, a shift begins to take place:

what do I do because it is needed —

and what do I do because it is truly mine?

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Old patterns returning

Even when you are growing and changing,

old patterns can still reappear.

Tension.

Irritation.

Short reactions.

And then the question arises:

is this my old pattern…

or is this simply me?

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Connection and vulnerability

A powerful moment in this episode is the connection with someone from the past.

Where silence once existed,

space is now created for emotion and acknowledgment.

It shows how sharing experiences — even painful ones —

can lead to connection and reduce loneliness.

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Choosing yourself

Slowly, something new begins to emerge:

creating space,

feeling boundaries,

and allowing your own needs to exist.

Not instead of others —

but alongside them.

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🌟 The common thread

The central theme of this episode is the tension

between caring for others

and creating space for yourself.

What once felt natural — adapting, continuing, fixing —

is now being questioned.

And in its place, something new is forming:

awareness, choice, and emotional presence.

Mentalizing helps with this:

not reacting immediately,

but first understanding what is happening —

within yourself and within others.

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💬 Closing

This episode shows how intense and meaningful

personal change can be.

It is not a straight path,

but a process of searching, feeling, and choosing again.

And sometimes, the most important step is not what you do —

but what you allow:

“This touches me… and that is allowed to be there.”