What if my abusive husband has mental health issues? Drawing on listener input, I tackle the complexities of abuse intertwined with mental health diagnoses such as bipolar disorder, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. I want to help you navigate the tricky waters of understanding biblical interpretations around staying in abusive relationships “in sickness and in health.” This episode is a lifeline for women seeking clarity and peace while healing and growing within difficult circumstances.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why anger and critical thinking are normal, healthy responses to injustice.
• How to unhook from shaming tactics used by abusers and others.
• The importance of stewarding your own mental, physical, and spiritual health.
• A biblical perspective on “in sickness and in health” in the context of abusive relationships.
• Why it’s not helpful to focus on parsing out mental illness vs. abuse in relationships.

Read the show notes and/or ask Natalie a question here

Related Resources:

• Are you wondering what is happening inside your own painful and confusing marriage? I wrote a book just for you called Is It Me? Making Sense of Your Confusing Marriage: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Hidden Emotional and Spiritual Abuse.
• My book, All the Scary Little Gods, is a spiritual memoir about healing from religious trauma and toxic programming.
• Flying Free is our online community educating and supporting Christian women in emotionally abusive marriages. Whether you want to stay in your marriage or leave, we want to equip you through this program.
• Flying Higher is my live mentorship program for any Christian woman interested in 10Xing their self-development progress.

I'm watching my babies go from being children to being young men, and I gotta be honest, it's making me sadder than I've been in a long time. In this Flying Higher moment I'll share a new thought I had this morning as I watched my 14-year-old in the kitchen. A thought that helped create a deeper shift within me from sadness to joy. Maybe it will help you as much as it helped me.

Need a mentor this year? Go to joinflyinghigher.com to learn more!

Today I visit with Diana Swillinger, a life coach and fellow advocate for personal growth and healing. Together, we explore the profound role of empathy—not just for others but for yourself—in overcoming life’s challenges and moving forward.

Key Topics Covered:

• The role of empathy in healing
• Personal responsibility vs. victim-blaming
• The difference between needing validation and needing empowerment
• The importance of challenging our deeply rooted beliefs
• A powerful tool for growth
• Building a life aligned with the heart of God

Read the show notes and/or ask Natalie a question here

Related Resources:

• Love Diana? Listen to Episode 256 of the Flying Free Podcast to get more of her!
• Check out Diana’s website.
• Follow Diana’s podcast, The Renew Your Mind Podcast. Some of her best episodes include “Staying Out of Family Drama,” “Have To Vs. Choose To,” “When People Are Wrong About You,” “When People Are Right About You,” and “Accepting What Is.”
• Follow Diana on Facebook and Instagram.
• Listen to the episode on victim blaming that I mentioned in today’s show.
• Are you wondering what is happening inside your own painful and confusing marriage? I wrote a book just for you called Is It Me? Making Sense of Your Confusing Marriage: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Hidden Emotional and Spiritual Abuse.
• My book, All the Scary Little Gods, is a spiritual memoir about healing from religious trauma and toxic programming.
• Flying Free is our online community educating and supporting Christian women in emotionally abusive marriages. Whether you want to stay in your marriage or leave, we want to equip you through this program.
• Flying Higher is my live mentorship program for any Christian woman interested in 10Xing their self-development progress.

Diana Swillinger is a life and business coach, host of The Renew Your Mind Podcast, and founder of the Renew Your Mind Institute Coach Training. After decades of trying please God, be a good person and do the right thing, she ended up exhausted and discouraged. Desperate for a solution, Diana went back to school, joined personal development programs, and more, then took what she learned and created mind renewal tools that let her love life in every situation no matter what comes her way. Over the past 5 year she has empowered thousands of women with those same tools to heal themselves, get back to who God created them to be, and build a life they love.