When love gets tangled with fear, it can turn into control. In this episode of Absolutely Focused Radio, we unpack how emotional wounds pass through generations — and how awareness breaks the cycle. From digital sobriety to fatherhood, projection to peace, this conversation explores the sacred work of healing without absorbing inherited pain. Featuring insights on emotional boundaries, generational trauma, and the power of presence, this episode is a call to clarity, courage, and legacy.

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Transcript
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Absolutely Focused Radio, Season four, episode thirteen, Healing the Divide,

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How Awareness restores.

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Lovejes Welcome to Absolutely Focused Radio, where clarity meets courage

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and healing meets honesty. Today we explore how love, when

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tangled with fear, can turn into control. We'll unpack how

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emotional wounds get passed down, how awareness stops the cycle,

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and how sobriety protects the peace that pain tries to steal.

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Sometimes love turns into leverage, not because people are evil,

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but because they're scared. A parent might fear losing influence,

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so they hold tighter instead of listening closer. When fear

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leads communication breaks. Suddenly you're explaining yourself instead of being understood.

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That's the moment you shrink to fit inside someone else's fear.

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But love, real love expands, it never confines.

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Science calls this emotional projection, placing your own pain on

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someone else. Research from the American Psychological Association shows that

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unresolved resentment often becomes defensive control inside families. Science calls

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it projection. Soul calls it pain disguised as protection. When

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that happens, children learn loyalty through silence, not honesty, and

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sometimes it's subtle tone, tension, or stories repeated until they

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sound like truth.

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That's why compassion matters. People repeat what once kept them safe,

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even if it hurts others. Now. Understanding doesn't mean you

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excuse it. It means you stop absorbing it. Every generation

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deserves a softer landing than the one before.

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Let's talk digital life. Modern triangulation doesn't just happen in person.

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It happens through texts, group chats, and posts that speak

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at people instead of to them. Screens amplify silence. Tools

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like pause, AI or space for mind help you slow

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reactions before you hit send. Digital sobriety for emotional balance.

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Scrolling while angry is emotional drinking looks like control feels

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like Chaos can't fix pain, but it can keep you

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from forwarding it.

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Here's the truth. You can't out control a controller, but

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you can outgrow them. Healing starts when you shift focus, therapy, journaling, prayer, movement, accountability.

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Growth doesn't always roar. Sometimes it whispers, not this time.

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That's the discipline staying grounded when chaos sends the invite.

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Some fathers just want to be that father, not perfect,

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not performing, just present. They don't want to borrow someone

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else's family, or chase affection through replacement. They want to

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love their kids fully, honestly, with both hands open, but

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some environments are built against that. When someone refuses accountability,

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they build a story instead. They'll find people posts and

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reasons to blame, not for truth, but for protection. And

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suddenly you're not healing, you're defending. They'll make your peace

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look like guilt and your silence sound like confession. But

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all you wanted was connection. Some people say, get over it,

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but how do you get over absence? There will always

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be voices for the child who never knew their father

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and the man who swore he'd never repeat that story.

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When you tried to break a cycle, the world built

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on that cycle will call you the problem. They did

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it to their fathers, now they try to do it

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to you. It's in your quiet nights, maybe your drunk ones.

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When truth hits hardest. They'd rather support your self destruction

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than your transformation.

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But healing men aren't dangerous. They're necessary. Every time a

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father chooses presence over pride, the whole lineage exhales.

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You're not here to prove you're good, You're here to

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be good steady accountable, consistent. That's how you end the pattern,

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not by fighting louder, but by living quieter, cleaner, freer.

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That's what breaking cycles really looks like. It's messy, it's lonely,

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it's misunderstood, but it's sacred work because you're choosing healing

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over history.

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Let's name what happens in these cycles, because language turns

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chaos into clarity.

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When someone refuses accountability, they often project They push their

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guilt onto you so they don't have to face it.

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It sounds like you're lying when they are the one hiding.

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Projection isn't truth. It's fear looking for a mirror.

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Sometimes that fear recruits others. That's triangulation, talking about people

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instead of to them. It builds small crowds around a wound,

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not a solution. Healthy communication never needs an audience.

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Then comes the smear campaign. Story stretched to fit of feeling.

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They'll twist your growth into guilt just to keep the

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old story alive. Remember when truth threatens control, storytelling becomes survival.

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And there's gaslighting bending reality until you question your own mind.

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It makes you defend your memory instead of your piece.

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Confusion is the weapon. Awareness is the cure.

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Most of this isn't new, it's inherited. It's generational repetition,

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old fear in modern clothes, people replay what once kept

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them safe, even if it hurts everyone Now cycles repeat

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until someone chooses awareness over comfort.

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And here's the hidden trap. Some folks will support your

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self destruction more than your recovery because healing rewrites their

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story too. They'll cheer your chaos, but doubt you're calm.

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That's not love, that's dependence on your dysfunction.

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So when you start to heal, remember, education isn't accusation.

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You don't have to prove anyone wrong. Just model awareness.

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Say I'm learning how projection and fear shape communication. That

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single sentence ends more arguments than silence.

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Ever, so how do you love people who keep pulling

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you into their storm?

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You stay calm enough to see the weather, but wise

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enough to stay dry. You practice emotional boundaries where love

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ends and self respect begins. Your job isn't to fix others,

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it's to model peace. Healing doesn't mean pretending it didn't happen.

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It means learning from it without living in it.

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And this family research confirms that emotional regulation lowers relapse

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risk by over forty percent. Sobriety isn't just about what

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you drink. It's about what you don't absorb.

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Even when it's messy, you still matter. You're not broken.

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You're buffering between the past and a better pattern.

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Real power isn't payback, it's peace. Keep your recovery bigger

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than that drama.

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Remember, silence used wisely is strength, not surrender.

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So basically, the more you understand, the less you argue.

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Exactly, awareness ends the argument. When love stops being leverage,

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healing starts being home.

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I release the need to control what isn't mine to fix.

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I release control.

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Knowledge replaces confusion.

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Knowledge restores calm.

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My piece isn't up for reposting, doesn't need that permission.

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I can understand without absorbing.

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I'm learning what love really means.

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I forgive this story that hurt me, but I won't

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live by it.

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You've been listening to Absolutely Focused Radio. If this episode

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resonated with you, remember awareness is the first act of freedom.

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This podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. It's

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not a substitute for professional counseling or therapy. If you

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or someone you know is struggling with mental health or

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substance use. Reach out for help in the US, call

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or text nine to eight eight for free confidential support.

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Outside the US, contact your local mental health hotline. Stay grounded,

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stay kind, and remember clarity is love. In focus pays.

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Excuss the science and of the concerts inna don't's for sure,

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don't make things.

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That's a sweet of fun.