In this conversation with Dr. Shefali Tsabary, clinical psychologist and author of The Conscious Parent, Karena explores how unhealed childhood wounds get passed down through generations, why traditional discipline doesn't work, and how the three-step process of awareness, acceptance, and action can help you break toxic patterns — whether you're a parent or not.

How do we stop unconsciously passing our unhealed wounds onto the people we love most?

The path to conscious parenting begins not with your child — but with you.

(00:23) From Psychologist to Conscious Parent: The Origin Story

Why Dr. Shefali's work applies to anyone who has ever had a parent
Her journey from clinical psychology to meditation to motherhood
How unhealed childhood baggage gets projected onto the people we love most

(06:55) Triggers, Boundaries & Breaking the Cycle

Why nothing outside of you is truly the trigger, only the match
Why real boundaries are internal actions, not instructions to other people
The three-step path forward: awareness, acceptance, action

(11:12) Screens, Mental Health & the Disconnection Crisis

“Screens are the worst thing to happen to children."
Anxiety in girls has doubled; suicidality in boys is at an all-time high
The real culprit: Overstimulation and disconnection from the present moment
Connection is the antidote to all emotional disease

(15:10) Control, Happiness & the Wake-Up Call We're All Avoiding

Why the need to control comes from having been controlled in childhood
The numbing epidemic: Netflix, dead-end relationships
What it takes to honestly say "I don't like my life"
How compliance in children (and adults) leads to eventual breakdown

(23:11) Role Reversal, Self-Love & the Books That Can Change Your Life

A community question on growing up as the caretaker and what happens when you need care
Karena shares her painful experience as her mother's caretaker in her final five years
Dr. Shefali's truth: "No one can love us the way we need — that's everyone's ultimate lesson."

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How to Stop Repeating Your Parents' Patterns | Dr. Shefali Tsabary on Conscious Parenting