54. Breaking free from religious & relationship trauma through self care w/ Natalia Lopez-Thismon

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In this episode, I'm joined by my private client Natalia López-Thismón. Trigger warning for those of you who have experienced emotional abuse either in a relationship or have experienced religious trauma.

Natalia is a life coach, women's circle, and rites of passage facilitator dedicated to helping Latinas who feel stuck in lives they don’t want regain the radical self-trust to rewrite their stories, by developing the skill of self trust.

Her journey with self-care began during her divorce in 2015 when she discovered the power of caring for herself—a practice she had rarely seen modeled by the women around her due to cultural norms that discourage women from prioritizing their own needs.

As the eldest daughter in a Puerto Rican and Venezuelan family, Natalia is committed to breaking this cycle and creating new narratives for herself and others. She views self-care as a radical act of healing and the first step toward developing self trust.

In this episode, Natalia shares her personal story of navigating a strict upbringing, how Marianismo impacts women's self trust, leaving an abusive marriage and ultimately her church.

And it all started with self care, which allowed Natalia to develop the self trust needed to rewrite her story one decision at a time - a process she now walks her clients through.

But we're not talking bubble baths and massages. Natalia illustrates how self-care is more about taking care of yourself starting from your most basic needs vs the commercialized version we often get sold.

Get in touch with Natalia:

• Download the Self Care Menu + Self Care to Self Trust email series
• Instagram
• TikTok

Episode takeaways

• Cultural expectations can heavily influence identity.
• Marianismo promotes self-sacrifice at the expense of women's self trust
• How and when religious conditioning can create barriers to self-trust.
• Leaving an abusive relationship was easier once self care rewired Natalia to trust herself
• Self-care leads to increased self-trust.
• Small promises to yourself build self-trust.
• Self-care is a revolutionary act of healing.
• Self-care is not about luxury and buying things

Chapters

• 03:00: Cultural Expectations and Marianismo
• 06:05: The Impact of Religion on Identity
• 11:59: The Turning Point: Leaving an Abusive Marriage
• 20:57: Building Confidence Through Self-Care
• 32:21: The Connection Between Self-Care and Self-Trust
• 41:44: Introducing the Self-Care Menu Tool
• 52:24: Self-Care as a Revolutionary Act